UC-NRLF 


iatos 


LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  LUX  SCHOOL 


Accession 


&.  dm 


WEDGWOOD  AND  HIS 
IMITATORS 


HOMERIC   VASE,  BRITISH  MUSEUM. 

Frontispiece. 


COLLECTOR'S  HANDBOOKS 


WEDGWOOD 

AND    HIS     IMITATORS 

BY 
N.  HUDSON  MOORE 

AUTHOR  OF  "THE  LACE  BOOK,"  "THE  OLD  CHINA  BOOK,"  i 
"THE  OLD  FURNITURE  BOOK,"  "OLD  PEWTER,  BRASS 
AND  COPPER,"  "  DELFTWARE,  DUTCH 
AND  ENGLISH,"  ETC. 

With  49  Half-tone  Engravings  from  Photographs 


NEW  YORK 

FREDERICK  A.  STOKES  COMPANY 
PUBLISHERS 


Copyright,  1909,  by 
FREDERICK  A.  STOKES  COMPANY 

All  Rights  Reserved 


LOAN  STACK 


September, 


Mi 


PREFACE 

To  lovers  of  the  beautiful  and  to  discriminating  collect- 
ors, the  Art  of  Wedgwood  has  ever  appealed.  But  for 
many  years,  indeed,  till  the  last  quarter  of  the  XlXth  cen- 
tury, the  world  at  large  has  been  content  to  pass  by  speci- 
mens of  his  basaltes  and  jasper,  distracted  by  more  florid 
wares. 

Then  once  again,  we  waked  to  the  distinguished  beauty 
of  those  works  sent  out  from  Etruria  and  Burslem.  Little 
by  little  the  prices  have  risen  as  buyers  became  more  plenty. 
Mr.  John  Wills,  a  well-known  English  collector  of  "  Old 
Wedgwood,"  particularly  the  basaltes  and  jasper  produc- 
tions, sent  his  entire  collection  to  this  country  for  sale  in 
February,  1908. 

In  many  cases  the  prices  obtained  at  this  sale  have  been 
noted  here  for  the  benefit  of  owners  and  purchasers.  There 
is  much  "  Old  Wedgwood  "  in  the  United  States ;  in  Canada 
many  large  sets,  both  printed  and  painted,  are  still  carefully 
preserved,  while  correspondents  in  Mexico  speak  of  much 
that  has  been  gathered  there. 

Most  museums  both  in  Europe  and  America  contain  speci- 
mens of  the  "  period  of  perfection,"  for  the  benefit  of 
students.  The  fullest  written  record  of  the  work  of  this 
great  potter,  is  contained  in  Miss  Meteyard's  "  Life  and 
Works  of  Wedgwood,"  and  her  "  Handbook  of  Wedgwood 
Ware,"  both  of  which  have  been  consulted  frequently  in 
the  preparation  of  this  book.  Reference  is  due  "  English 
Earthenware  and  Stoneware,"  by  William  Burton ;  "  Staf- 
fordshire Pots  and  Potters,"  by  the  Rhead  Brothers,  "Jo- 

V 


PREFACE 

siah  Wedgwood,"  by  Prof.  A.  H.  Church,  "  Guide  to  Pot- 
tery and  Porcelain,"  issued  by  the  British  Museum,  "Life 
of  Wedgwood,"  by  Samuel  Smiles, 

Thanks  for  photographs  are  extended  to  Josiah  Wedg- 
wood and  Sons,  Etruria ;  "  The  Connoisseur,"  British 
Museum,  Boston  Museum  of  Fine  Arts,  and  several  private 
collectors. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

JOSIAH  WEDGWOOD       ..........  i 

LIST  OF  MATERIALS  INVENTED  OR  PERFECTED  BY 

WEDGWOOD .  .     .      .    *.  17 

USEFUL  AND  ORNAMENTAL  WARES 18 

GREEN-GLAZED  WARE      ..,.'.     .     .      .     .  24 

MOTTLED,  MARBLED,  OR  AGATE  WARE  ....  29 

CREAM-COLOURED  WARE — "  QUEEN'S  WARE  "      .  32 

BASALTES .     .  41 

BUSTS  IN  BASALTES 51 

JASPER  WARE    .     .     .     .      ....     .     .      .  54 

BAS-RELIEFS  AND  TABLETS 63 

LIST  OF  "  ILLUSTRIOUS  MODERNS  "    .     .     ...      .  71 

ROSSO-ANTICO   ... 77 

CANE-COLOURED  WARE 78 

LUSTRE — PEARL  WARE 79 

MORTARS  AND  PESTLES 82 

MARKS  ON  WEDGWOOD     . 83 

WILLIAM  ADAMS    ...     ...    ..:     .     .     .     .     .     .  84 

THE  WARE  URTONS       .     .     >     ....     ...  90 

JOHN  VOYEZ     .     ;.     .     .     .  ...     .     ....  95 

vii 


CONTENTS 

HENRY  PALMER,  JOHN  NEALE 99 

JOHN  TURNER 102 

"  WEDGWOOD  &  Co." 106 

J.  LOCKETT IO9 

DANIEL  STEEL no 

JOHN  AYNSLEY in 


viu 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

PLATE   I  .         .         .         .  Frontispiece. 

Apotheosis  of  Homer. 

PLATE  2  ....     Facing  page  14. 

FIG.  i.  Green  Glaze  Image. 

"  2.  Cauliflower  Teapot. 

"  3.  Pineapple  Teapot. 

"  4.  Pineapple  Mould. 

PLATE  3  ....     Facing  page  32. 

FIG.    5.    "  Surface  Agate  "  Flower  Pot. 
"       6.    Russian  service. 
"       7.    Covered  Dish,  Cream  Coloured  Ware. 

PLATE  4  ....     Facing  page  36. 

FIG.    8.  Cream-Coloured  Ware,  painted  and  printed. 

"       9.  Orange  Basket. 

"     10.  Lozenge-cut  Flower  Pot. 

"     ii.  Candlesticks,  Tea  Caddy,  cup  and  saucer. 

PLATE  5  ....     Facing  page  42. 

FIG.  12.    Basaltes  Tea  Service. 
"      13.    Basaltes  Vase. 
"      14     Basaltes  Vases. 

PLATE  6          .....     Facing  page  46. 

FIG.  15.    Josiah  Wedgwood. 
"     16.    A  Vestal;  George  Whitfield. 
"     17.     Cameos  mounted  in  Gold. 

PLATE  7  .         .         .         .     Facing  page  $6. 

FIG.  1 8.    Cameos. 

"     19.    Black  and  White  Jasper  Vase. 
"     20.    Black  and  White  Jasper. 


x  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PLATE  8  .         .         .         .     Facing  page  58. 

FIG.  21.    Marriage  of  Cupid  and  Psyche. 

22.     Hercules  in  the  Garden  of  the  Hesperides. 
"     23.    Choice  of  Hercules. 

PLATE  9  .         .         .         .     Facing  page  60. 

FlG.  24.     Apotheosis  of  Virgil. 

25.  Barberini  Vase. 

26.  Rosso  Antico. 

"      27.     Cane-Coloured  Ware. 

PLATE  10         .         .         .         .     Facing  page  So. 
FIG.  28.    Lustre  Candlesticks. 
29.     Gold  Lustre  Ware. 
"      30.    Mortar  and  Pestle. 

PLATE  n         .         .         .         .     Facing  page  84. 
FIG.  31.    Wine  Coolers. 

32.    Adams  Jasper  Ware. 
"     33.    Adams  Jasper,  Wedgwood  Basaltes. 

PLATE  12     ....  •       .         .         .     Facing  page  88. 
FIG.  34.    Adams  Jasper. 

35.    Jasper  Vase;  marked  Adams  and  Wedgwood. 
"     36.     Cream-Coloured  Ware,  marked  Warburton. 

PLATE  13.         .         .         .     Facing  page  92. 

FIG.  37.  Cream-Coloured  Figures,  marked  Warburton. 

"      38.  Jasper  Vase,  marked  Voycz. 

39.  Tablet,  marked  J.  Voyez. 

"     41.  Jasper  Ware — Turner. 

PLATE  14        .       y.         .         .     Facing  page  100. 

FlG.  40.  Jasper  Ware,  Neale  &  Co. 

"     42.  Jasper  Ware,   marked  Turner. 

"     43.  Salad  Dish  or  Tray,  "  Wedgwood  &  Co." 

"    44.  Wedgwood  &  Co. 

PLATE  15        .         .      '  ',f  .      t.     Facing  page  108. 

FIG.  45.    Jasper  Ware,  J.  Lockett. 

46.    Jasper  Ware,  marked  Steel. 
"     47.    Cream  Ware,  John  Aynsley. 


"  With  respect  to  myself  there  is  nothing  relating  to 
business  I  so  much  wish  for  as  being  released  from  these 
degrading  slavish  chains,  these  mean,  selfish  fears  of  other 
people  copying  my  work — how  many  new  and  good  things 
has,  and  still  does,  this  selfish  principle  prevent  my  bring- 
ing to  light?  I  have  always  wished  to  be  released  from 
it,  and  was  I  now  free,  I  am  persuaded  that  it  would 
do  me  much  good  in  body  and  more  in  mind,  and  that  my 
invention  wod.  so  far  from  being  exhausted  by  giving  a 
free  loose  to  it  that  it  wod.  increase  greatly.  .  . 
Dare  you  step  forth  my  dear  friend  and  associate,  and  share 
the  risque  and  honour  of  acting  on  these  enlarged  prin- 
ciples?" 

— W.  to  B.— 1769. 


JOSIAH  WEDGWOOD 

1730-1795 

BEFORE  treating  of  the  various  wares  invented, 
perfected  and  subsequently  manufactured  by  this 
eminent  man,  a  short  sketch  of  his  life  seems  fit- 
ting. During  the  period  of  his  business  activity, 
1751-1795,  he  produced  so  many  and  such  varied  articles 
of  use  and  beauty,  that  he  seems  to  have  crowded  into  these 
brief  years,  forty-four,  the  vitality  and  activity  which  might 
cover  twice  that  period. 

He  was  the  youngest  child  of  Thomas  and  Mary  Wedg- 
wood, and  was  born  in  Burslem,  England,  July,  1730.  The 
exact  date  of  his  birth  is  uncertain,  but  it  must  have  been 
early  in  the  month,  since  the  date  of  his  baptism  is  July 
1 2th.  It  was  inevitable  that  he  should  have  been  a  potter 
as  were  his  father  and  grandfather  before  him,  his  relatives 
on  both  his  mother's  and  father's  side  having  followed  that 
art. 

His  childhood  was  passed  in  a  comfortable  home,  and  his 
education  progressed  in  a  school  at  Newcastle,  to  which 
he  made  a  daily  journey,  though  it  was  seven  miles  distant 
from  his  home  at  Burslem.  When  the  little  boy  Josiah  was 
nine  years  old,  his  father  died.  Though  a  fair  amount  of 
property  was  left  for  the  support  of  the  widow  and  children, 
Josiah  was  taken  from  school  and  set  to  work  learning  that 
branch  of  the  potter's  trade  known  as  a  "  thrower." 

When  he  was  about  twelve,  that  terrible  scourge  of  those 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

days,  small-pox,  swept  through  Burslem  and  attacked  many 
members  of  the  Wedgwood  family.  None  of  them  suffered 
so  severely  as  Josiah,  who  rose  from  his  bed  with  a  diseased 
right  knee  which  was  a  constant  source  of  pain  and  discom- 
fort, till  many  years  later,  when  he  had  it  amputated. 

The  recovery  from  the  small-pox  was  slow,  but  when  he 
was  something  more  than  fourteen  years  old,  in  November, 
1744,  he  was  apprenticed  to  his  elder  brother  Thomas,  for 
a  term  of  five  years,  his  previous  work,  apparently  counting 
in  reducing  the  term  of  apprenticeship  from  the  usual  seven 
years. 

The  indenture  was  worded  in  the  form  which  obtained 
at  the  time,  and  though  it  was  often  disregarded  both  in  the 
spirit  and  the  letter,  it  was  at  least  in  the  case  of  Josiah 
Wedgwood  exactly  lived  up  to.  For  two  years,  notwith- 
standing the  pain  he  suffered  in  his  leg,  he  still  occupied  his 
position  as  thrower,  his  correct  eye  being  a  valuable  asset 
in  the  work  of  making  teapots,  pitchers,  cups  and  bowls,  as 
well  as  round  dishes  like  tureens,  which  were  commonly 
known  at  that  time  as  "  terrines." 

At  the  end  of  this  time,  and  when  Josiah  was  sixteen, 
he  found  that  in  order  to  give  himself  any  ease  at  all  he 
must  sit  at  his  work  with  his  leg  stretched  before  him  on  a 
bench.  Under  these  circumstances  his  attention  was  now 
turned  to  moulding  and  to  experimenting  in  the  manufacture 
of  small  wares,  the  varying  of  the  imitations  of  tortoise- 
shell  and  agate  wares  which  were  so  largely  used  in  knife 
handles,  snuff-boxes,  small  teapots  and  pitchers. 

The  nature  of  the  lad  was  painstaking  and  accurate;  his 
work  in  clays,  in  mixing  materials  and  making  glazes, 
brought  into  his  brother's  works  more  attention  to  detail 
than  had  hitherto  been  observed.  Towards  the  end  of  his 
apprenticeship  he  manifested  his  desire  to  be  taken  into  part- 

2 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

nership,  but  his  brother  Thomas,  who  showed  none  of  the 
genius  of  Josiah,  was  quite  content  to  follow  along  the  old 
lines  laid  down  by  his  father,  distrusted  the  spirit  of  advance 
evidenced  by  Josiah,  and  was  not  willing  to  take  him  into  the 
business. 

Thrown  thus  on  his  own  resources,  he  left  Burslem  and 
went  into  business  at  what  was  known  as  the  Cliff  Bank 
Pottery,  near  Stoke,  with  Thomas  Alders  and  John  Harri- 
son. This  was  in  1751.  The  wares  made  at  the  Cliff 
Bank  works  were  the  ordinary  mottled  and  marbled  wares, 
with  tea  sets  of  "  scratched  "  blue,  and  black  Egyptian.  So 
admirable  were  the  articles  made  in  these  simple  materials 
by  the  young  potter,  that  the  sales  increased  largely,  and 
Alders  and  Harrison  seeing  the  benefit  which  would  accrue, 
drove  Josiah  to  the  limit  of  his  powers,  without  increasing 
the  stipend  at  which  they  had  engaged  him,  nor  providing 
him  with  proper  materials  with  which  to  work. 

Of  course  such  treatment  was  not  to  be  borne  any  longer 
than  he  could  help,  and  at  the  end  of  about  a  year  he  left 
them,  his  second  partnership  being  formed  with  Thomas 
Whieldon  at  Fenton. 

Some  years  before,  by  1740,  Whieldon  had  started  a 
small  pot-works  where  he  made  mottled  and  marbled  ware, 
cottage  ornaments,  black  Egyptian,  tortoise-shell  plates,  tea- 
pots and  candle  sticks,  many  of  them  in  melon,  pine-apple 
and  cauliflower  designs.  Whieldon  was  like  Wedgwood  in 
regard  to  the  accuracy  and  method  observed  in  his  work, 
and  he  employed  the  best  modellers  to  be  had  to  make 
models  for  his  wares,  one  of  them  being  Aaron  Wood,  well- 
known  for  his  skill  in  this  line. 

The  connection  between  Whieldon  and  Wedgwood  com- 
menced about  1752,  though  the  deed  of  partnership  was  not 
signed  till  1754,  and  so  good  was  Josiah 's  reputation  for 

3 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

skill  at  this  time,  that  it  was  specified  in  the  agreement  that 
the  results  of  his  secret  experiments  need  not  be  imparted 
to  others.  The  first  few  months  of  this  new  partnership 
were  spent  by  him  in  getting  his  designs  in  order  and  in 
making  models  for  use  in  the  works. 

His  first  achievement  was  in  the  improvement  of  a  green 
ware,  moulded  in  the  form  of  fruits,  leaves  and  flowers 
and  covered  with  a  glaze  of  extreme  glossiness  and  beauty. 
The  old  formula  for  glaze,  lead,  flint  and  water,  did  not 
produce  the  result  desired  by  Wedgwood,  who  was  always 
striving  for  something  better,  and  who  never  hesitated  to 
use  plenty  of  work  and  the  best  materials  for  his  purpose. 
Objects  in  this  brilliant  green  ware  became  exceedingly 
popular  and  the  demand  was  great.  As  Wedgwood  went 
on  improving  the  forms  and  the  materials,  the  product  of- 
the  pottery  increased  in  importance. 

Exceedingly  choice  little  articles  were  turned  out,  but- 
tons and  boxes,  principally  for  snuff,  which  were  set  in 
metal  mounts  in  Birmingham,  made  a  large  business  item. 
Little  figures  and  teapots  like  those  shown  in  Figures  2 
and  3  were  part  of  the  output  of  this  period,  though  Wedg- 
wood made  these  after  he  had  left  Whieldon,  as  moulds 
which  were  recently  found  at  Etruria  prove. 

In  the  pursuit  of  his  labours,  which  in  a  potter  require 
much  standing  and  mounting  of  stairs,  the  unfortunate 
leg  received  an  injury  which  confined  Wedgwood  to  his 
room  for  many  months.  Though  physically  laid  by,  his 
mind  never  slacked  its  work,  and  during  this  period  he 
read  and  studied,  planned  new  products,  made  notes  from 
such  art  books  as  he  could  get  hold  of,  and  stored  up  valu- 
able information,  all  of  which  he  utilised  later. 

When  the  five  years  of  the  Whieldon  partnership  came 


kWEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

to  an  end  it  was  not  renewed,  and  early  in  1759,  at  the 
age  of  twenty-nine,  with  his  cousin  Thomas  Wedgwood  as 
potter,  Josiah  commenced  a  partnership  which  was  only 
terminated  with  the  death  of  Thomas  in  1788. 

The  two  young  men  were  able  to  rent  from  their  cousins 
John  and  Thomas  Wedgwood,  who  were  successful  potters 
at  Burslem,  a  small  dwelling  known  as  "  Ivy  House," 
which  had  in  the  rear  some  kilns  and  sheds.  The  elder 
Wedgwoods,  having  accumulated  what  was  a  comfortable 
fortune  for  those  days,  reduced  their  works,  leaving  thus 
open  for  their  ambitious  young  relative  a  potworks  of  suffi- 
cient size,  and  for  which  he  paid  the  modest  rent  of  £10 
a  year. 

This  was  perhaps  the  busiest  time  of  an  always  busy 
career.  There  was  little  capital  on  which  to  build  the 
business,  so  Wedgwood  continued  to  make  those  small  and 
necessary  articles  suchj  as  he  had  made  with  Whieldon, 
formed  his  own  moulds,  mixed  his  clays,  saw  to  the  firing, 
kept  his  books  and  attended  to  the  warehouse  where  the 
goods  were  displayed. 

The  care  shown  in  the  manufacture  of  his  wares,  the 
beauty  of  the  green  glaze,  his  exquisite  snuff-boxes  and  the 
streaked  and  mottled  plates,  teapots  and  ewers,  soon  at-, 
tracted  great  attention  to  the  maker.  He  never  considered 
any  commission  too  small,  and  like  other  potters  of  his  time 
was  sometimes  asked  to  replace  dishes  which  formed  a  part 
of  some  cherished  service,  often  of  Delft  or  Oriental  ware, 
his  painstaking  nature  leading  him  to  continue  his  efforts 
till  the  match  was  practically  perfect. 

Little  by  little  he  increased  the  number  of  his  products. 
First  came  a  white  stoneware  in  which  garden  pots,  vases 
and  tiles  were  made.  Then  the  cream-coloured  ware  came 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

under  his  attention,  and  he  sought  to  improve  not  only  the 
body  and  the  glaze,  but  the  shape  of  the  objects  as  well. 
Nothing  satisfied  this  indomitable  man  but  the  best.  Dis- 
couragements which  would  have  exhausted  most  men  seemed 
but  to  stimulate  him,  and  battling  with  ill-health  caused  by 
his  unfortunate  knee,  he  kept  right  on,  instructing  his  men, 
improving  the  implements  of  his  trade,  experimenting  with 
chemicals  and  ever  alive  to  the  necessity  of  securing  new  and 
attractive  patterns  for  his  wares. 

His  struggles  with  the  journeymen  potters  were  endless. 
A  restless  set  of  men,  they  passed  from  one  employer  to  an- 
other, their  work  was  often  slovenly  and  inaccurate,  and 
being  ignorant  they  were  averse  to  any  innovations  in  their 
methods.  It  took  much  labour  and  firmness  to  successfully 
inaugurate  more  business-like  methods,  and  to  teach  the 
workmen  that  the  new  order  of  things  helped  rather  than 
hindered  their  work.  Even  while  labouring  with  these  busi- 
ness details  he  remembered  his  civic  responsibilities,  and 
gave  his  support  by  both  his  voice  and  his  purse  to  the  bet- 
tering of  the  roads,  the  improvement  of  Burslem  by  the 
building  of  schools,  a  town  hall  and  a  public  market. 

During  his  busy  life  he  always  found  time  and  money  for 
such  public  works  as  were  of  benefit  to  mankind,  and  the 
successful  completion  of  the  Grand  Trunk  Canal  was  largely 
due  to  his  efforts. 

By  1761  under  Wedgwood's  capable  hands  the  cream- 
coloured  ware  had  become  much  improved.  The  body,  com- 
posed of  Dorset  and  Devon  clays  with  a  small  addition  of 
flint,  was  extremely  light,  and  Greatbach's  china  glaze  still 
further  improved  the  ware  by  giving  it  a  beautiful  glossiness. 
The  shapes  of  articles  in  this  cream-coloured  ware  were  most 
attractive,  and  for  the  decoration  Wedgwood  turned  to  na- 
ture for  colours  and  designs. 

6 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

The  use  of  the  turning  lathe  by  potters  had  hitherto  been 
confined  to  polishing  off  irregularities  and  making  only  the 
simplest  ornamental  effects.  But  in  Wedgwood's  hands, 
when  the  improved  engine-lathe  was  complete,  having  been 
added  to  by  Randle  of  Congleton,  Baddeley  of  Eastvyood, 
Greatbach  of  Hanley  and  finally  William  Cox  of  Birming- 
ham, the  work  turned  out  on  red  pottery  tea  and  coffee 
pots  was  of  great  beauty.  Ultimately  the  engine  work  was 
applied  to  other  ware,  basaltes,  stonewares,  but  on  the  jas- 
per ware  for  polishing  only. 

Another  invention  which  simplified  the  production  of 
decorated  china  and  also  reduced  its  cost,  was  the  applica- 
tion of  printing  to  both  porcelain  and  pottery.  Sadler  and 
Green,  of  Liverpool,  had  been  printing  designs  on  tiles, 
mugs,  plates,  jugs,  etc.,  since  1752,  and  to  them,  on  pack- 
horses  was  the  improved  cream-coloured  ware  sent  by  Wedg- 
wood for  decorating.  It  was  returned  to  Burslem  in  the 
same  manner,  was  fired  and  started  out  again  to  the  various 
fairs,  or  was  distributed  through  the  country  districts  by 
packmen,  or  sent  to  London  for  even  wider  distribution  by 
ship,  to  the  Colonies  or  to  the  Continent. 

In  1765  Wedgwood  writes  as  follows  about  his  exports: 

"  The  bulk  of  our  particular  manufactures  are,  you  know, 
exported  to  foreign  markets,  for  our  home  consumption  is 
very  trifling  in  comparison  to  what  is  sent  abroad,  and  the 
principal  of  these  markets  are  the  Continent  and  the  Islands 
of  North  America.  To  the  Continent  we  send  an  amazing 
quantity  of  white  stoneware  and  some  of  the  finer  kinds, 
but  for  the  Islands  we  cannot  make  anything  too  rich  and 
costly." 

On  Wednesday,  January  25th,  1764,  in  the  parish  church 
at  Astbury,  Josiah  Wedgwood  was  married  to  his  distant 
cousin  Sarah,  and  took  her  to  live  in  the  "Brick  House," 

7 


WEDG\VOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

as  it  was  called,  with  which  were  also  connected  pot  works 
larger  and  more  commodious  than  those  at  "  Ivy  House." 
The  pictures  of  "  Brick  House  "  show  it  to  be  a  large  and 
comfortable  dwelling,  and  here  the  Wedgwoods  lived  for 
about  five  years.  Many  happenings  of  a  domestic  nature 
took  place  in  this  period  and  in  this  house.  There  was 
sorrow  and  suffering,  for  from  here  his  second  child,  Rich- 
ard, was  buried,  and  here  Wedgwood  went  through  the 
amputation  of  his  leg,  which  had  cost  him  so  much  agony. 
Here  many  things  connected  with  his  art  were  perfected; 
here  he  invented  that  cypher  in  which  his  trade  secrets  were 
noted  down,  and  here  came  his  friends,  both  humble  and 
distinguished,  and  they  were  many,  for  a  man  of  such  ac- 
tivity in  so  many  fields  could  not  fail  to  attract  other  broad- 
minded  men,  interested  in  the  same  things  that  absorbed 
him. 

It  was  but  a  couple  of  years  before  his  marriage,  in  1 762, 
that  Wedgwood,  confined  to  his  bed  in  an  inn  at  Liverpool, 
with  an  injury  to  his  knee,  first  met  with  Bentley.  From 
the  moment  of  their  first  hand-clasp  the  admiration  was  mu- 
tual, and  till  the  time  of  Thomas  Bentley's  death  there  was 
no  man  to  whom  Wedgwood  was  so  closely  allied,  or  who 
stood  so  near  to  him  in  affection.  Mr.  Bentley  was  a  man 
of  taste,  he  had  travelled  extensively  on  the  Continent,  par- 
ticularly in  Italy,  he  was  interested  in  the  beauty  of  the  an- 
tiquities which  he  had  seen,  and  by  means  of  prints  and 
engravings  introduced  to  Wedgwood  what  proved  to  be  a 
mine  of  wealth  and  inspiration.  His  life  had  been  laid  on 
a  much  broader  plane  than  that  of  Wedgwood,  who  had 
been  little  beyond  the  borders  of  Staffordshire.  His  letters 
touching  on  events  of  the  day,  discussing  questions  of  re- 
ligion and  ethics,  art  and  poetry,  as  well  as  practical  mat- 
ters, were  carefully  read  and  treasured  by  Wedgwood.  In- 

8 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

deed,  he  had  them  bound  and  indexed,  called  them  "  The 
Family  Bible,"  and  had  them  always  at  hand  for  reference. 
Unfortunately  they  have  been  lost. 

John  Wedgwood,  brother  to  Josiah,  was  resident  in  Lon- 
don, and  lived  at  the  "  Artichoke "  in  Cateaton  Street. 
Engaged  in  no  business  for  several  years  while  on  the  look- 
out for  something  easy  and  congenial,  he  took  charge  of 
the  crates  of  pottery  sent  from  Burslem  to  London,  and  had 
the  buyers  view  the  goods  at  a  warehouse  in  Cateaton  Street 
near  his  inn. 

With  the  growth  of  business,  which  increased  immensely 
under  Royal  patronage,  Wedgwood  appreciated  the  neces- 
sity for  a  London  warehouse  in  a  good  neighbourhood  and 
under  the  charge  of  an  efficient  clerk.  Although  he  writes 
to  his  brother  about  the  matter,  nothing  seems  to  have  been 
done  at  that  time  about  it. 

Mr.  Bentley,  in  Liverpool,  had  also  a  largely  increasing 
export  business  in  Wedgwood's  wares,  so  large,  in  fact,  that 
Wedgwood  cannot  supply  him,  and  writes  in  1766  that  he 
had  better  purchase  two  or  three  hundred  crates  of  cream- 
coloured  ware  from  a  pot-works  in  Burslem  where  it  could 
be  had  cheaper  than  elsewhere,  and  keep  it  in  stock  to  fill 
these  foreign  orders. 

In  the  black  ware,  which  had  become  one  of  the  most 
popular  products,  was  made  the  useful  as  well  as  ornamental 
objects.  Marbled  and  pebbled  vases  were  most  successful, 
so  were  the  medallions  and  small  figures. 

The  want  of  a  proper  shop  and  warehouse  in  London 
began  to  be  severely  felt.  The  great  growth  of  the  business 
which  necessitated  the  frequent  absence  from  home  of 
Wedgwood,  who  was  constantly  going  to  Liverpool  about 
the  printed  ware,  to  Birmingham  about  the  small  goods  to 
be  metal  mounted  and  to  London  when  opportunity  offered, 

9 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

induced  him  to  offer  Bentley  a  partnership,  the  terms  of 
which  were  finally  agreed  upon  in  the  spring  of  1767. 

The  business  was  to  be  divided  into  two  branches,  "  Use- 
ful and  Ornamental/'  the  useful  branch  still  remaining  un- 
der the  charge  of  Thomas  Wedgwood,  and  the  ornamental 
to  be  under  the  care  of  Wedgwood  and  Bentley,  as  the  new 
firm  was  to  be  called.  Of  course  Josiah  Wedgwood  was 
the  moving  spirit  of  both  enterprises,  but  Bentley  began 
immediately  to  study  and  sketch  small  objects  for  the  branch 
in  which  he  was  interested.  It  was  at  first  arranged  that 
he  should  come  and  live  near  the  works,  and  various  houses 
and  sites  were  looked  at.  Wedgwood,  travelling  constantly 
on  both  his  own  affairs  and  those  of  a  public  nature  in  which 
he  was  almost  equally  interested,  over  execrable  roads  and 
on  horseback,  overdid,  brought  on  trouble  in  his  leg,  and  at 
last  decided  to  be  relieved  of  it. 

On  May  28th,  1768,  without  the  relief  of  a  sigh  or  a 
groan,  he  sat  in  his  chair  and  viewed  the  two  surgeons  re- 
move what  for  many  years  had  been  but  a  source  of  misery 
to  him.  Before  the  wound  had  even  partially  healed,  the 
little  boy  Richard  died,  and  but  for  the  wonderful  character 
of  Mrs.  Wedgwood,  who  bore  up  under  her  sorrow  so  as 
to  keep  him  serene,  his  recovery  would  have  been  longer 
delayed. 

Before  this  operation  he  had  secured  in  London  what 
seemed  to  him  a  most  advantageous  shop  in  which  to  display 
and  store  his  goods,  and  this  was  opened  to  the  public  in 
August,  1768.  It  faced  both  Newport  Street  and  St.  Mar- 
tin's Lane,  and  on  the  ground  floor  were  on  sale  some  in- 
ferior goods  and  some  of  the  useful  wares,  while  upstairs, 
to  which  a  wide  staircase  led,  were  those  articles  which 
were  shown  only  to  patrons  of  wealth  and  taste. 

The  new  works  upon  which  Wedgwood  had  finally  set- 

IO 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

tied,  were  building  at  Etruria  as  well  as  a  fine  mansion  for 
himself  which  he  named  "  Etruria  Hall,"  and  one  also  for 
Mr.  Bentley  in  which  the  Wedgwood  family  lived  till  their 
own  was  completed.  On  November  I4th,  1768,  the  part- 
nership books  were  opened  at  Etruria  for  Wedgwood  and 
Bentley,  and  by  the  next  spring  the  slip  and  clay  houses 
were  finished,  two  mills  were  in  progress,  and  in  May 
everything  relating  to  the  vases  was  removed  to  Etruria. 
By  the  close  of  1769  Etruria  Hall  was  complete  and  the 
Wedgwood  family  in  occupation. 

For  the  wonderful  success  of  the  showrooms  in  St.  Mar- 
tin's Lane  it  is  but  necessary  to  consult  the  memoirs  of  the 
day.  The  choicest  products  of  Wedgwood's  fertile  brain 
and  hands  were  being  sent  up  from  Etruria,  and  Mr.  Bent- 
ley,  who  of  necessity  had  gone  to  live  in  Chelsea  so  as  to  be 
near  London,  presided  over  the  handsome  showrooms. 

It  was  not  many  years,  however,  before  the  capacity  of 
these  rooms  was  tested  to  the  utmost.  New  quarters  had 
to  be  chosen  and  fitted  up,  so  Mr.  Bentley  set  about  procur- 
ing, some.  Those  ultimately  agreed  on  were  "  Portland 
House,"  as  it  was  called,  in  Greek  Street,  Soho,  and  they 
were  opened  to  the  public  in  April,  1774. 

The  foreign  business  had  increased  wonderfully,  and  from 
Russia,  whence  came  many  of  Wedgwood's  earliest  orders, 
the  patronage  extended  far  and  wide.  In  1774,  Narva, 
Revel  and  Moscow  ordered  large  consignments.  Goods 
were  sent  to  Cadiz,  Venice,  Valencia,  Leipsic,  Riga,  Leg- 
horn, Hamburg,  Genoa,  Lisbon,  Naples,  Ratisbon,  Ver- 
sailles, Turin,  St.  Petersburg,  and  when  commerce  was  re- 
stored, to  Boston,  New  York,  and  Southern  ports  in 
America. 

As  early  as  1769  Wedgwood,  annoyed  by  the  constant 
copying  of  his  best  productions,  had  taken  out  a  patent  to 

II 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

protect  his  Etruscan  vases,  the  only  effort  toe  ever  made  to 
keep  for  himself  the  compensations  of.  his  years  of  experi- 
ment and  study.  This  patent  drew  Wedgwood  into  much 
unpleasantness  with  Palmer  of  Hanley,  who  had  been  boldly 
pirating,  and  the  matter  was  not  entirely  adjusted  till  1771, 
and  caused  Wedgwood  much  annoyance  in  many  ways. 

The  Revolutionary  War  had  a  bad  effect  upon  the  busi- 
ness, since  America  was  one  of  their  best  markets.  But 
Wedgwood  was  always  upon  the  side  of  freedom,  and  in 
a  letter  to  Bentley,  dated  March  igth,  1778,  he  writes  as 
follows:  "I  am  glad  that  America  is  free,  and  rejoice 
most  heartily  that  it  is  so,  'and  the  pleasing  idea  of  a  refuge 
being  provided  for  those  who  choose  rather  to  flee  from, 
than  to  submit  to  the  iron  hand  of  tyranny  has  raised  so 
much  hilarity  in  my  mind,  that  I  do  not  at  present  feel  for 
our  situation  as  I  may  do  the  next  rainy  day.  We  must 
have  war  and  perhaps  continue  to  be  beat.  To  what  degree 
is  in  the  womb  of  time.  If  our  drubbing  keeps  pace  with 
our  deserts,  the  Ld.  have  mercy  upon  us." 

Not  content  with  words  merely,  Wedgwood  and  Bentley 
contributed  to  the  funds  for  the  sufferers  from  the  war  who 
were  imprisoned  in  England,  and  manifested  in  all  ways 
their  sympathies  with  America.  It  may  be  mentioned  here, 
that  from  July,  1787,  till  his  death  Wedgwood  was  ac- 
tively interested  in  the  "  Society  for  the  Abolition  of 
Slavery."  He  wrote  on  its  behalf,  he  gave  money  and  in- 
fluence, organised  meetings  and  was  constantly,  at  work  for 
the  cause.  He  also  caused  Hackwood  to  model  a  seal  for 
the  society,  a  slave  kneeling  but  in  chains,  which  was  made 
in  basaltes.  The  seal  became  most  popular  with  those  who 
endorsed  the  cause,  and  was  made  in  many  forms,  for 
setting  in  rings,  studs,  brooches  and  on  watch  chains.  Wedg- 
wood also  sent  a  number  of  these  seals  to  Franklin  for  dis- 

12 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

tribution,  with  a  letter  stating  his  pleasure  at  being  con- 
nected with  so  good  a  cause.  It  may  be  noted  that  both 
Washington  and  Franklin  are  included  among  the  "  Illus- 
trious Moderns." 

But  to  return  to  the  business  affairs  of  Wedgwood  and 
Bentley.  In  1775  the  new  body  on  which  Wedgwood 
had  been  experimenting  so  long,  was  perfected,  and  to  it  he 
gave  the  name  of  Jasper,  a  name  which  had  been  previously 
applied  by  him  to  one  of  his  crystalline  bodies.  Few  ob- 
jects now  remain  of  this  early  jasper,  while  of  the  later 
product  quantities  of  pieces  in  every  variety  of  form  still 
bear  their  message  of  beauty. 

In  1775  also,  the  patent  for  making  porcelain  which  had 
been  granted  to  Cookworthy  and  by  him  sold  to  Champion, 
and  against  the  extension  of  which  Wedgwood,  as  the  spokes- 
man of  the  Staffordshire  potters,  protested,  was  granted 
Champion.  This  effectually  shut  out  the  Staffordshire  men 
from  making  porcelain,  though  some  of  Wedgwood's  high- 
class  wares  are  so  porcellaneous  as  almost  to  come  under 
that  head. 

From  this  time,  1775,  onward,  the  fame  of  Wedg- 
wood's productions  increased,  his  fortune  was  assured  and 
to  him  came  the  pleasure  of  meeting  the  choicest  spirits  of 
the  day,  among  whom  were  many  who  became  close  friends. 
The  life  at  Etruria  Hall  was  conducted  on  a  more  elaborate 
scale  than  had  been  possible  at  Brick  House.  Guests  came 
often  and  were  always  welcome.  The  collecting  of  books 
became  a  delightful  resource,  and  so  many  chests  of  them 
found  their  way  down  into  Staffordshire,  that  Wedgwood 
was  unable  to  read  more  than  a  small  portion.  In  one  of 
his  letters  to  Bentley  he  writes  cheerfully,  "  I  thank  you 
for  the  catalogues,  but  have  not  had  time  to  read  a  page. 
My  wife  says  I  must  buy  no  more  books  till  I  build  another 

13 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

house,  and  advises  me  first  to  read  some  of  those  I  have 
already.  What  nonsense  she  sometimes  talks." 

His  life  was  not  free  from  its  griefs,  like  that  of  any 
other  human  being.  There  was  illness,  one  daughter  in 
some  way  alienated  his  affection,  some  of  his  children  and 
closest  friends  died,  and  he  saw  riot  and  disorder  among 
his  workmen.  The  death  of  Mr.  Bentley  in  November, 
1780,  was  an  overwhelming  loss,  and  one  which  left  its 
mark  permanently  upon  him.  Eight  years  later  Thomas 
Wedgwood,  his  partner  in  the  "  Useful  Wares,"  died.  But 
by  this  time  his  sons  had  grown  up  and  been  trained  in  their 
father's  business.  In  1790,  John,  Josiah,  Jr.,  and  Thomas 
were  taken  into  partnership,  as  well  as  a  nephew,  Thomas 
Byerley,  who  had  been  during  his  younger  days  much  of  a 
trial  to  Wedgwood,  as  well  as  to  his  widowed  mother. 

From  this  time  on  the  reins  of  management  fell  slowly 
from  the  hands  of  the  master  potter,  his  health  failed  and 
he  died,  January  3rd,  1795,  at  the  age  of  sixty-five. 

During  the  year  1906,  in  a  storehouse  at  Etruria,  the 
factory  built  by  Wedgwood  in  1769,  were  discovered  crates 
covered  with  dust,  and  fairly  rotting  away.  In  them  were 
thousands  of  pieces  of  ware,  moulds  and  trial  pieces,  to- 
gether with  notes  on  these  by  Wedgwood  himself.  It 
seems  difficult  to  understand  why  these  crates  were  left 
there  undisturbed  for  more  than  a  hundred  years,  "  always 
had  been  there,"  probably,  and  but  for  a  desire  for  more 
space  in  the  works,  would  probably  have  been  left  there 
another  century. 

While  the  finished  examples  among  these  new-found 
specimens  will  no  doubt  attract  most  attention,  the  one 
who  is  interested  in  the  methods  and  skill  of  the  great  pot- 
ter will  turn  most  eagerly  to  the  thousands  of  trial  pieces 
which  fill  rows  upon  rows  of  shelves.  Here  you  can  trace 

14 


FIG.     2.     CAULIFLOWER   TEAPOT. 


FIG.     i.     GREEN    GLAZE   IMAGE.  FIG.    4.      PINEAPPLE    MOULD. 


FIG.    3.      PINEAPPLB    TEAPOT. 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

the  working  of  an  idea  from  its  inception  to  its  perfection. 
His  accompanying  notes  show  how  each  failure  was  made 
to  yield  its  usefulness,  and  how  he  followed  up  each  small- 
est hint  they  gave  till  failure  was  turned  into  success. 

Slips,  glazes,  bodies,  colours  and  applied  clays  are  each 
and  all  set  forth,  showing  how  he  struggled  with  diffi- 
culties over  and  over  again,  a  most  instructive  exhibition  of 
industry,  patience,  and  determination.  The  fertility  of  his 
invention  and  the  variety  of  his  designs  are  exemplified  here, 
since  of  "  pitcher  moulds  "  alone  more  than  a  thousand  re- 
main in  perfect  condition. 

The  intaglios  in  basaltes  which  Wedgwood  copied  from 
the  antique  gems  whenever  he  had  an  opportunity,  were 
first  made  in  wax  by  Wedgwood  himself.  From  this  wax 
impression  the  pitcher  mould  was  taken,  the  work  being 
done  on  a  massive  table  which  stands  in  the  second  floor 
of  the  works.  This  table  is  formed  of  a  great  tree-trunk 
which  is  imbedded  in  the  foundations  of  the  works,  and 
which  was  absolutely  free  from  tremor  which  might  de- 
stroy the  delicate  work.  To-day,  this  tree-trunk  is  used 
for  the  same  purpose  as  it  was  in  the  days  of  the  great 
potter  himself,  nothing  better  having  been  found  to  take 
its  place. 

Hardly  one  of  the  wares  which  made  the  name  of  Wedg- 
wood famous  is  omitted  from  the  list  of  perfect  pieces 
found,  basaltes,  cream  and  ivory-colored  ware,  lustre,  en- 
caustic painted,  agate,  blue  printed  ware  and  finally  jasper 
both  dipped  and  solid.  Most  interesting  of  all  are  the 
moulds  taken  by  Wedgwood  himself  of  the  Barberini  vase, 
but  which  never  were  used.  Instead  wax  models  of  the 
figures  were  made  by  Webber,  much  larger  than  those  on 
the  vase  so  as  to  allow  for  shrinking.  From  these  figures 
in  wax,  plaster  casts  were  made,  and  from  these  in  turn 

15 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

were  made  the  moulds  which  in  firing  shrank  several  sizes. 
From  these  moulds  the  figures  to  go  on  the  vases  were 
made,  still  several  sizes  larger  than  the  original,  but  which 
on  firing,  came  out  the  perfect  size.  Two  over-shrinkings 
had  to  be  calculated  for  by  Webber,  but  he  seems  to  have 
been  able  to  do  it  to  the  nicety  of  a  hair,  and  twenty  vases 
came  out  perfect. 

In  addition  to  the  many  other  interesting  items  in  this 
great  "  find  "  were  the  wax  models  of  the  famous  chessmen 
made  by  Flaxman.  These,  however,  are  too  much  damaged 
to  be  of  any  use,  but  think  of  their  surviving  so  long! 

These  recently  discovered  records  and  specimens  prove 
conclusively  that  to  Wedgwood  must  be  yielded  the  credit 
of  making  more  improvements  and  innovations  in  his  art 
than  any  other  one  man.  He  took  the  common  products 
of  the  time  and  perfected  them.  The  coarse  and  clumsy 
shapes  under  his  skilful  fingers  grew  into  things  of  beauty, 
and  the  table  furniture  of  the  whole  world  was  made  more 
attractive  and  sanitary,  and  low  enough  in  price  to  be  within 
the  reach  of  all. 

His  "  Ornamentals "  speak  for  themselves,  particularly 
those  splendid  examples  in  jasper  and  basaltes,  which  were 
the  highest  product  of  his  skill.  In  the  following  pages 
his  work  will  be  considered  in  chronological  order,  and  the 
labour  of  his  own  hands  provides  the  best  memorial  which 
can  be  built  to  the  "  Prince  of  Potters." 


iB 


LIST  OF  MATERIALS 

INVENTED  OR  PERFECTED  BY 

WEDGWOOD 

In  arranging  this  list  a  chronological  order  has  been  fol- 
lowed as  nearly  as  possible,  and  the  dates  given  when  the 
body  was  perfected  and  ready  to  be  put  on  the  market. 
Some  of  the  bodies  were  made  for  a  short  time  only  and  then 
discarded,  others  were  made  in  varying  quantities  during 
the  whole  of  his  career. 

GREEN  WARE.     1752.     1795. 

MOTTLED  AND  AGATE  WARE.    1752. 

IMITATIONS  OF  DELFT  WARE.     1758. 

WHITE  STONEWARE.     1759. 

CREAM-COLOURED  WARE,     1759.     1793. 

BASALTES.     1762.     1795. 

CRYSTALLINE  PEBBLED,    1763. 

BRONZE  ETRUSCAN.     1768. 

FINE  WHITE  WARE.     1773.    1775. 

JASPER.     1775.     1795. 

Rosso- ANTICO.     1776. 

PEARL  WHITE  WARE.     LUSTRE.     1776.     1779. 

CANE-COLOURED  WARE.     1780.     1795. 


USEFUL  AND  ORNAMENTAL  WARES 

WHEN  the  partnership  between  Wedgwood  and 
Bentley  was  agreed  upon,  the  products  of  the 
works  were  divided  into  two  classes,  the 
"Useful"  and  the  "Ornamental."  The 
former  class  was  to  be  under  the  charge  of  Thomas  Wedg- 
wood as  manager  and  partner,  and  in  the  profits  of  this  class 
Mr.  Bentley  had  no  share.  The  second  class  was  to  be 
made  by  Wedgwood  and  Bentley,  and  in  the  profits  of  these 
Thomas  Wedgwood  did  not  participate. 

At  first  the  division  seemed  very  clear,  but  after  the 
Useful  Wares  began  to  be  made  in  the  same  choice  ma- 
terials as  the  Ornamentals,  the  demarkation  became  less 
easy  to  draw.  A  letter  from  Wedgwood  to  Bentley  on  this 
subject  is  quoted  here,  as  it  explains  very  plainly  to  Mr. 
Bentley,  who  seems  to  have  been  a  little  put  out,  exactly 
how  the  great  potter  felt  in  the  matter. 

"With  respect  to  the  difference  between  Useful  Ware 
and  Ornamental,  I  do  not  find  any  inclination  in  myself 
to  be  overnice  in  drawing  the  line.  You  know  I  never 
had  any  idea  that  Ornamental  ware  shod,  not  be  of  *  some 
use.'  You  knew  this  from  all  we  had  done  hitherto,  from 
the  many  conversations  we  have  had  upon  the  subject, 
and  from  the  list  we  wrote  in  your  commonplace  book  of 
the  uses  to  which  ornamental  vases  might  be  put;  I  cod. 
have  wished  therefore  that  you  had  not  repeated  this  idea 
so  often,  and  asked  me  if  my  partnership,  with  T.  W. 
wod.  exclude  our  making  '  Stella's  '  ewers.  Tell  me,  my 
dear  friend,  did  you  ask  me  this  question  for  information, 

18 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

or  were  you  really  as  angry  with  me,  as  the  question  accom- 
panied with  any  other  idea  would  import.  I  hope  you  were 
not,  for  I  shod,  be  very  unhappy  to  think  you  wod.  be  angry 
with  me  lightly,  or  that  I  had  given  you  any  just  occasion 
for  the  warmth  some  parts  of  your  letter  seem  to  express. 
I  say  seem,  for  I  hope  I  am  mistaken,  and  shall  rest  in  that 
hope  till  I  have  the  pleasure  of  hearing  from  you  again. 
But  as  this  question  has  put  me  upon  thinking  a  little  more 
upon  the  subject,  and  the  situation  I  am,  or  may  be  in,  be- 
twixt two  Partnerships,  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  enter  a  little 
deeper  into  it,  and  attempt  something  like  a  line  in  Theorie, 
though  I  hope  we  shall  none  of  us  be  too  rigid  in  our 
adherence  to  it,  in  practice.  And  first  negatively;  I  do  not 
think  that  fineness,  or  richness,  or  price,  or  colour,  or 
enamelling,  or  bronzing,  or  gilding,  can  be  a  criterion  for 
our  purpose,  for  though  we  make  a  Table  or  desert  service 
ever  so  fine,  rich,  or  expensive,  though  they  are  every  piece 
rich  enough  to  adorn  a  Cabinet,  they  are  in  my  opinion, 
Useful  ware  still,  and  I  think  the  same  may  be  said  of  a 
Teapot  or  a  Chamberpot.  Suppose  for  instance,  that  I 
should  make  pebble  desert  ware,  and  should  vein  or  edge 
it  with  gold  burnt  in.  This  would  be  as  rich  as  the  vases, 
but  must,  I  apprehend  be  class'd  as  Useful  ware  still;  and 
on  the  other  hand,  though  we  make  a  flowerpot,  a  Vase, 
Candlestick,  etc.,  ever  so  plain,  it  is  still  in  the  class  of 
Ornamental  Ware,  and  clearly  within  the  partnership  of 
W.  and  B.  only,  and  I  should  think  I  did  wrong  in  mak- 
ing them  at  Burslem  on  any  occasion  without  first  asking 
your  consent. 

"  If  degrees  of  richness  or  elegance  of  form  were  to  con- 
stitute the  difference  in  question,  and  consequently  the  mak- 
ing of  it  be  transferred  from  Burslem  to  Etruria  upon  its 
improvement  beyond  such  a  pitch,  this  wod.  not  only  lay  a 

19 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

foundation  for  frequent  disputes,  but  must  have  the  same 
effect  upon  my  useful  works,  as  the  King  of  France's 
Edict  has  upon  the  potteries  of  France,  to  prevent  their 
rivalling  his  works  at  Seve,  for  T.  W.  might  with  reason 
say  I  have  such  or  such  an  improvement  to  introduce  into 
the  desert  or  Tea,  but  I  shall  then  lose  the  Article,  or  if 
I  improve  such  a  single  article  further  it  is  gone!  This  is 
no  forced  or  unnatural  supposition,  but  is  what  must  result 
from  such  a  principle  being  admitted,  and  as  there  seems  to 
me  to  be  a  distinct  criterion  to  distinguish  between  Useful 
ware  and  Ornaments,  and  which  is  clear  of  these  or  any 
other  material  objections,  I  cannot  hesitate  in  rejecting  the 
former.  May  not  useful  ware  be  comprehended  under  this 
simple  definition,  of  such  vessels  as  are  made  use  of  at 
meals?  This  appears  to  me  to  be  the  most  simple  and 
natural  line,  and  though  it  does  not  take  in  Wash-hand 
basons  and  bottles,  or  Ewers,  chamberpots,  and  a  few  such 
articles,  they  are  of  small  consequence,  and  •  speak  plain 
enough  for  themselves;  nor  wod.  this  exclude  any  superb 
vessels  for  sideboards,  or  vases  for  desert  if  they  could  be 
introduced,  as  these  would  be  for  show  rather  than  use." 
This  was  written  in  September,  1770. 

When,  in  1773,  after  the  firm  of  Wedgwood  and  Bent- 
ley  had  been  in  partnership  four  years,  it  was  found  neces- 
sary to  issue  a  catalogue,  the  Ornamental  Wares  were  di- 
vided into  twenty  classes. 

ff  One.  Intaglios  and  Medallions  or  Cameos,  accurately 
taken  from  antique  gems  and  from  the  finest  models  that 
can  be  procured  from  modern  artists.  In  1787  there  were 
1032  designs  of  these  objects. 

"  Two.  Bas-reliefs,  Medallions  and  tablets,  etc.  Of 
these  there  were  300  designs. 

20 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

"Three.  Medallions,  etc.,  of  Kings,  Queens  and  Illus- 
trious persons  of  Asia,  Egypt  and  Greece.  In  1787  there 
were  over  a  hundred  of  these. 

"Four.  A  set  of  sixty  medals,  from  Dassier,  illus- 
trating ancient  Roman  history,  from  the  founding  of  the 
city  to  the  end  of  the  Consular  government,  including  the 
age  of  Augustus. 

" 'Five,  Heads  of  Illustrious  Romans.  Forty  of  these 
were  produced. 

"  Six.  The  twelve  Caesars,  made  in  four  sizes,  and  their 
Empresses,  which  were  made  in  one  size  only. 

"Seven.  Fifty-two  medallions  showing  Emperors  from 
Nerva  to  Constantine  the  Great. 

"Eight.     Heads  of  the  Popes,  253  medallions. 

"Nine.  A  series  of  102  heads  of  Kings  and  Queens  of 
England  and  France,  sold  only  in  sets. 

"  Ten.  Heads  of  Illustrious  Moderns.  In  1787  there 
were  230  heads  made  both  in  jasper  and  basaltes,  in  several 
sizes,  chiefly  in  one  colour,  sold  at  is.  each. 

"Eleven.  This  was  a  most  important  class,  headed  by 
Wedgwood  '  busts,  small  statues,  boys  and  animals.'  It  in- 
cluded many  busts  of  distinguished  persons  which  have 
now  become  very  rare  and  are  much  in  demand.  The 
material  most  often  used  was  basaltes,  and  there  were  in- 
cluded in  it  such  persons  as  Marcus  Aurelius,  Lord 
Chatham,  Zeno,  Marcus  Brutus,  Homer,  Pindar,  John  De 
Witt,  etc.,  some  of  the  busts  reaching  a  size  of  twenty-five 
inches  while  others  varied  from  four  to  eighteen  inches. 
Eighty  busts  in  all  were  produced  and  there  were  forty 
statues  of  animals,  etc.,  also  in  basaltes. 

"  Twelve.  Lamps  and  Candelabra.  Made  in  marbled 
ware  or  basaltes  as  well  as  jasper;  some  of  them  adapted 
for  Argand's  patent  burner.  The  prices  ranged  from  2 

21 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

shillings  to  5  guineas.  Not  many  were  made  and  they  are 
rare. 

"  Thirteen.  Tea  and  coffee  services,  including  chocolate 
pots,  sugar  dishes,  cream  ewers,  cabinet  cups  and  saucers, 
etc.,  made  in  bamboo,  basaltes,  plain  and  enriched  with 
Grecian  and  Etruscan  ornaments.  Likewise  in  jasper  of 
two  colours  '  polished  within  like  the  natural  stone.' 

"Fourteen.     Flower  and  root-pots. 

"  Fifteen.  Ornamental  vases  of  antique  form  in  terra- 
cotta. 

"Sixteen.  Antique  vases  of  black  porcelain  or  artificial 
basaltes,  highly  finished  with  bas-reliefs.  Sizes  from  3  inches 
to  2  feet.  They  came  in  sets  or  singly,  and  many  of  these 
vases  were  used  as  mortuary  urns. 

"  Seventeen.  Vases,  tablets,  etc.,  with  encaustic  paint- 
ings. The  tablets  were  made  of  varying  sizes,  small  enough 
for  a  lady's  ring  or  large  enough  to  set  in  furniture  or  a 
mantelpiece. 

"Eighteen.  To  this  class  belonged  the  magnificent 
vases,  tripods,  and  other  objects  in  jasper  with  coloured 
grounds  and  white  reliefs. 

"Nineteen^  Inkstands,  paint-chests,  eye-cups,  mortars 
and  chemical  vessels. 

"  Twenty.  Thermometers  for  measuring  strong  fire  or 
the  degree  of  heat  above  ignition." 

These  articles  were  all  marked  Wedgwood  and  Bentley, 
till  after  1780,  then  the  mark  was  Wedgwood. 

The  first  edition  of  the  catalogue  was  a  small  pamphlet, 
published  1773.  The  second  edition,  published  1774,  was 
much  more  imposing;  when  this  was  later  translated  into 
French,  it  was  called  the  third  edition.  Fourth  edition, 
1777,  fifth,  1779,  sixth  in  French  the  same  year,  and  the 

22 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

sixth  English  was  brought  out  in  1787.  This  was  issued 
in  French  in  1788.  Besides  the  French  editions  of  these 
catalogues  there  were  also  Dutch  and  German  ones.  Since 
the  death  of  Wedgwood  there  have  been  two  English  re- 
prints of  these  catalogues,  one  in  1817  and  the  other  in 
1873. 


GREEN-GLAZED  WARE 

1752-1795 

GREEN  ware,  that  is,  a  body  covered  with  a  green 
glaze,  had  long  been  made  in  England.  Indeed, 
the  process  had  come  down  from  the  Roman 
potters,  but  with  the  decline  of  tile-making  the 
secret  had  been  lost. 

Whieldon  and  some  of  the  other  Burslem  potters  had 
taken  up  the  manufacture  of  the  green  ware  again,  but 
their  method  of  obtaining  the  colour  was  to  stain  the  body 
with  oxide  of  copper  and  then  apply  a  glaze  made  of  lead, 
water  and  flint. 

To  Wedgwood  is  ascribed  the  "  invention  "  of  the  green 
glaze  which  through  his  experimenting  finally  became  so 
successful.  Miss  Meteyard  gives  the  formula  for  Wedg- 
wood's green  glaze  as  follows: 

"  Flint  glass,  6.    *} 

Red  lead,  2.  >  Vitrified. 

White  enamel,  4.) 

Calcined  copper,  %2-  This  will  be  a  blue  green  and 
will  require  a  good  deal  of  yellow  ground  with  it  to  make 
it  grass  green.'* 

The  colour  of  this  glaze  as  perfected  by  Wedgwood  is 
extremely  brilliant  and  beautiful,  and  marks  the  great  ad- 
vance in  the  matter  of  glaze  which  Wedgwood  made  even 
so  early  in  his  career.  He  appreciated  far  more  keenly  than 
many  of  his  contemporaries  the  advantage  of  preparing 
his  materials  with  the  greatest  care  and  trusting  less  to 

24 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

chance  than  was  common  in  the  Potteries.  Under  his 
supervision  the  wares  put  out  from  the  Whieldon  works  be- 
came much  more  popular  than  before,  and  articles  which 
hitherto  had  never  been  attempted  were  successfully  made 
and  put  on  the  market. 

While  Whieldon  himself  seems  to  have  had  small  initia- 
tive and  inventive  power,  he  had  the  sagacity  to  procure 
for  his  works  the  best  assistance  possible.  Josiah  Spode 
the  elder,  William  Greatbach,  Garner  and  Barker  were  his 
apprentices  at  various  times;  Aaron  Wood  modelled  for 
him,  and  Wedgwood  made  moulds  for  him  as  well  as  im- 
proved many  processes. 

The  little  "  image  toy  "  in  green  is  a  very  early  piece, 
Figure  i,  and  most  brilliant  in  colour  and  glaze.  Few 
of  these  figures  come  into  the  hands  of  collectors  now,.but  the 
beautiful  green  plates  and  trays  are  occasionally  to  be  met 
with.  One  exceedingly  choice  example  of  a  cauliflower 
compotier  was  obtained  not  long  ago  by  a  china  fancier  at 
an  auction  sale  which  took  place  at  a  small  house  in  Roches- 
ter, New  York.  A  woman  bought  it  before  our  collector 
arrived  and  he  saw  her  showing  it  with  considerable  dis- 
satisfaction to  a  friend.  He  told  her  that  he  would  give 
her  a  new  white  china  dish  in  exchange.  She  was  more  than 
satisfied,  chose  a  dish  which  cost  forty  cents,  and  our  col- 
lector bore  his  treasure  homeward,  pleased  with  his  luck. 

Some  of  the  trays  have  finely  modelled  wreaths  of  fruit 
or  flowers,  grapes  and  strawberries  being  especial  favour- 
ites. Teacaddies  also  are  occasionally  to  be  met  with,  par- 
ticularly in  the  cauliflower  pattern,  and  are  most  orna- 
mental. 

Wedgwood  continued  making  this  ware  after  he  started 
in  business  for  himself,  but  after  he  became  fully  employed 
in  making  those  wares  in  which  finer  effects  were  to  be 

25 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

obtained,  he  disposed  of  the  green  ware  he  had  on  hand.  It 
was,  however,  continually  made  in  small  quantities  at  Burs- 
lem.  Wedgwood's  taste  for  copying  natural  forms  in  pot- 
tery found  ample  expression  in  this  beautiful  glaze,  and  it  is 
wonderful  to  see  the  variety  of  charming  "  pickle  leaves," 
as  they  were  called,  which  came  from  his  hands.  Grape, 
maple  and  fern  leaves  as  well  as  cabbage  leaves  were 
used,  and  if  it  were  possible  to  obtain  a  collection  of  these 
green  leaves  alone,  it  would  be  seen  that  each  specimen  was 
worthy  special  attention.  A  number  of  them  are  packed 
away  in  the  storerooms  of  the  Boston  Museum  of  Fine 
Arts,  waiting  for  room  in  the  new  buildings  in  which  they 
can  be  displayed. 

About  ten  years  after  the  ware  first  came  into  favour,  it 
began  to  decline  in  popularity,  and  to  stimulate  interest  in 
it,  Wedgwood  had  it  decorated  with  gilt  sprigs.  In  Au- 
gust, 1766,  Wedgwood  writes  to  Bentley  about  it  as  fol- 
lows: "Pray  sell  the  Green  and  Gold  for  Pensacola,  the 
new  discover'd  Islands,  or  where  you  can,  for  I  will  never 
take  it  again,  so  make  your  best  of  it.  I  am  quite  clearing 
my  Warehs.  of  colour'd  ware,  and  am  heartily  sick  of  the 
commodity  and  have  been  so  long,  but  durst  not  venture 
to  quit  it  till  I  had  got  something  better  in  hand,  which 
thanks  to  my  fair  customers  I  now  have  and  intend  to  make 
the  most  of  it.  Green  desert  ware  is  often  wanted  in 
reality  for  the  West  India  Islands.  I  have  a  few  crates  on 
hand,  some  gilt,  some  plain,  ergo,  shod,  be  glad  to  part  with 
them  on  very  moderate  terms,  for  the  reason  assigned  above 
I  wod.  sell  them  at  20  p.  ct.  less  than  I  ever  sold  any  be- 
fore." 

This  green  glaze  was  applied  to  the  cauliflower,  see  Fig- 
ure 2,  pine-apple,  see  Figure  3,  and  Figure  4,  and  melon 
ware  which  has  so  long  been  assigned  to  Whieldon.  In 

26 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

1906  in  the  crates  before  mentioned  as  being  found  at 
Etruria,  were  specimens  of  teapots,  pitchers,  etc.,  and  their 
moulds,  proving  conclusively  that  Wedgwood  made  them. 
Very  charming  they  are  too,  the  contrast  between  the  green 
of  the  leaves  and  the  yellow  top  being  particularly  fresh 
and  pleasing.  Owing  to  the  high  price  of  tea  these  pots 
were  made  usually  in  small  sizes,  the  two  shown  being  four 
and  a  half  inches  high,  while  some  ran  even  smaller. 

Quantities  of  these  pots  were  sent  to  America  in  the 
crates  of  "  Assort'd  Wares  "  which  were  so  popular,  or  by 
"  the  chest,  newest  fashion,"  as  was  advertised  by  James 
McEvers  in  1757.  "Colly  flower  tea  and  coffee  pots" 
are  advertised  in  1765,  and  in  many  of  these  advertisements 
"  Wedgwood's  wares "  are  specified.  Besides  what  was 
sold  by  the  regular  merchants  at  their  shops,  much  stuff  of 
all  kinds  was  sold  direct  from  the  ships.  Friday,  Nov.  7th, 
1783,  there  was  this  advertisement  in  the  New  York  Morn- 
ing Post:  "  Just  arrived  in  the  Iris  from  London,  and  to 
be  sold  low  By  Robert  Loosely,  In  Water  Street  between 
the  Coffee  House  and  Old  Slip,  A  Great  variety  of  Goods, 
Amongst  which  are  a  few  Books,  Gold  Rings,  Lockets  and 
Pins,  Very  fine  and  fresh  French  and  English  hard  and  soft 
Pomatums,  Fine  plated  and  high  finished  steel  spurs,  a  par- 
cel of  very  neat  Wedgwood,  Ink  stands,  Cream  ware,  etc." 

Indeed  particularly  in  the  old  newspapers  of  New  Eng- 
land there  was  hardly  an  issue  after  1770  which  did  not 
contain  an  advertisement  of  china  wares.  In  addition  to 
the  ship  sales  and  the  merchants,  there  was  scarcely  a 
"  dame  "  who  had  a  little  shop  but  who  imported  her  crate 
of  china;  the  chemists  followed  suit,  so  did  the  tobacconists, 
the  dealers  in  pewter,  and  apparently  everybody  else  who 
could  obtain  it. 

In.  the  Connecticut  Courant  for  September,  1773, 

27 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

is  this  advertisement  from  the  "  Staffordshire  and  Liver- 
pool Warehouse,"  Boston,  Mass.: 

"  A  fine  sortment  of  Crockery  Ware,  consisting  of  almost 
every  kind  of  China,  Glass  and  D'elph;  Cream-colour, 
white,  blue  and  white,  black,  brown,  agot,  tortoise,  melon, 
pineapple  fruit  pattern,  enamel'd  and  many  other  kinds 
of  Stoneware." 

These  teapots  of  Wedgwood's  had  more  excellencies  than 
those  of  form  and  colour.  The  noses  were  so  well  placed 
that  they  poured  without  spilling  the  liquid,  the  handles 
were  comfortable  to  grasp  and  the  lids  stayed  on.  In  fact 
they  were  only  another  exemplification  of  his  determination 
that  whatever  he  made  should  be  the  best  of  its  kind,  and 
entirely  suitable  for  the  purpose  for  which  it  was  intended. 


28 


MOTTLED,   MARBLED,  OR! 
AGATE   WARE 

1752 

IN  the  close  quarters  of  "  The  Potteries,"  where  trade 
secrets  became  common  property  over  night,  it  was 
not   to   be  wondered   at   that   all   pot-works   turned 
out  similar  wares.     The  oldest  potters,  Warburtons, 
Turners,  Mayers  and  the  elder  Wedgwoods,  all  made  mot- 
tled or  marbled  ware  of  two  or  three  coloured  clays,  some- 
times applying  the  colour  in  slip  form,  the  colours  being 
drawn  together  by  the  use  of  a  comb,  as  the  painter  nowa- 
days produces  artificial  graining  in  wood. 

These  mottled  and  agate  wares  were  so  improved  by 
Thomas  Whieldon,  who  potted  between  1740-1780,  that 
they  are  commonly  called  "  Whieldon  Ware "  no  matter 
by  whom  produced.  Working  under  so  skilful  and  broad- 
minded  a  potter  as  Whieldon,  Wedgwood  sought  in  every 
way  to  improve  the  wares  which  were  in  hand,  and  these 
crude  and  primitive  mottled  articles  bloomed  into  new 
beauty. 

The  old  method  of  "combing"  several  coloured  slips 
together  was  replaced  by  the  use  of  coloured  clays  being 
worked  together,  thin  cakes  or  "  bats "  being  beaten  to- 
gether so  that  they  would  stick,  strips  being  cut  from  the 
mass,  which,  when  formed  into  articles  by  being  thrown 
or  pressed,  exhibited  marvellous  streakings  and  veinings  in 
different  colourings.  Wares  produced  in  this  way  were 

29 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

known  as  "  solid  agate,"  and  its  method  of  production,  that 
is,  whether  thrown  or  pressed  in  a  mould  can  always  be  told, 
in  the  latter  case  by  the  seam  which  remains  between  the  two 
halves  of  the  mould. 

Tea  sets,  flower  pots,  vases,  bowls,  jars  open  and  covered, 
plates,  trays  and  baskets  were  all  made  in  this  early 
marbled  ware,  which  is  quite  distinct  from  the  "  pebbled 
ware  "  of  much  greater  beauty,  which  is  considered  later. 

The  mottled  ware  was  sometimes  made  on  a  cream- 
coloured  body  by  the  use  of  manganese,  oxide  of  iron, 
oxide  of  copper  and  oxide  of  cobalt  dissolved  by  the  lead 
glaze  and  floating  into  one  another.  This  mottled  ware  was 
often  extremely  beautiful  when  a  skilful  hand  blended 
the  colours,  and  when  the  object  was  enriched  with  raised 
design  or  punched  work,  with  splashes  of  zaffres  laid  in,  or 
touches  of  emerald  green.  The  soft  tones  of  browns  in  the 
wares  which  seem  to  float  on  a  ground  of  saffron  are  most 
pleasing  and  restful  to  the  eye,  and  no  collection  of  early 
English  wares  is  complete  without  one.  I  have  mentioned 
before,  in  "  The  Old  China  Book,"  a  piece  of  great  beauty, 
a  covered  jar,  which  is  in  the  Antiquarian  Society  Rooms  at 
Concord,  Massachusetts. 

Wedgwood,  after  he  went  in  business  for  himself, 
painted  with  liquid  clays  his  cream-coloured  ware,  old  stock 
or  seconds,  in  mottled  effects,  keeping  his  wares  constantly 
moving,  like  the  practical  business  man  that  he  was. 

He  writes  to  Bentley  in  November,  1769:  "I  have  re- 
served my  house  at  Burslem  for  Mr.  Rhodes,  (a  skilful 
painter  and  enameller)  and  his  men,  it  is  quite  ready  for 
him  and  when  he  comes  you  shall  have  Mr.  Bakewell;  but 
we  must  have  some  one  here  to  vein  and  finish  the  vases 
and  if  Bakewell  goes  before  Mr.  Rhodes  comes  the  business 
must  stand  still  the  while." 

30 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

When  this  mottled,  marbled  or  agate  decoration  was 
applied  to  the  cream-coloured  ware  it  was  known  as  "sur- 
face agate  "  to  distinguish  it  from  the  "  solid  agate  "  where 
the  colour  went  through  the  whole  body.  In  Figure  5 
is  given  an  example  of  surface  agate,  from  the  Museum  at 
Burslem,  and  though  on  this  piece  the  wavings  are  large 
and  wide  apart  they  are  often  found  on  smaller  pieces, 
or  on  plates  and  dishes,  with  small  mottlings  and  veinings, 
much  like  the  markings  in  tortoise  shell,  which  name  was 
also  sometimes  applied  to  this  ware. 


CREAM-COLOURED  WARE 
"QUEEN'S  WARE" 

1759-1795 

IN  Shaw's  "History  of  the  Staffordshire  Potteries," 
published  in  1829,  he  says:  "About  1725  Mr. 
Thomas  Astbury,  a  son  of  the  person  already  men- 
tioned (John  Astbury),  commenced  business  at  Lane 
Delph,  first  using  a  different  kind  of  marl  with  the  flint, 
which  so  varied  the  tint  of  this  improved  pottery,  that  he 
named  it  cream-coloured  stoneware;  and  this  was  further 
improved  by  using  only  the  whitest  native  clay  and  flint 
ground  at  Mothersall  mill." 

Various  Staffordshire  potters  made  this  ware,  using  a  lead 
glaze  and  only  one  firing.  Enoch  Booth  of  Tunstall 
in  1750  was  the  first  potter  to  fire  the  body  to  a  biscuit 
state,  and  then  apply  a  liquid  glaze  composed  of  calcined 
flint  and  calcined  lead  ore  ground  in  water  to  a  perfect 
smoothness. 

Cream-coloured  ware  was  made  in  this  way  for  about 
nine  years,  before  Wedgwood  began  to  experiment  with 
both  body  and  glaze.  He  was  so  successful  that  in  1763 
Queen  Charlotte  ordered  from  him  a  table  service,  and  in 
compliment  to  her  he  named  the  ware  "  Queen's  Ware," 
and  was  made  "  Potter  to  the  Queen  "  and  supplied  several 
services  to  the  royal  family. 

The  use  of  Greatbach's  glaze,  which  was  similar  to  that 
in  use  in  the  great  English  china  potteries,  and  the  use  of  the 

32 


FIG.    5.     "  SURFACE    AGATE  "    FLOWER    POT. 


FIG.     6.       RUSSIAN     SERVICE. 


%-  v 


FIG.    7.      COVERED    DISH,    CREAM-COLOURED    WARE. 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

finer  clays  of  Devon  and  Dorset  in  addition  to  the  calcined 
flint,  gave  an  increased  whiteness  to  the  ware  and  made  it 
less  liable  to  crack  and  flake  off. 

It  was  decorated  in  enamel  colours — Wedgwood  sent  his 
pieces  to  Mrs.  Warburton  of  Hot  Lane  for  this  decoration 
at  first, — then  printing  was  applied  by  Sadler  and  Green 
at  Liverpool,  and  finally  when  the  material  and  shapes  were 
as  perfect  as  Wedgwood  could  make  them,  he  had  them 
decorated  under  his  own  supervision. 

When  it  became  evident  what  important  materials  china 
stone  and  china  clay  were  in  the  making  of  cream-coloured 
ware,  and  what  a  blow  would  be  given  to  the  industry  by 
the  extension  of  Cookworthy's  patent  to  Champion,  it  was 
no  wonder  that  the  Staffordshire  potters  rose  up  in  a  body 
to  protest  against  its  extension.  The  petition  they  presented 
was  so  far  successful  that  it  granted  to  Champion  the  sole 
right  to  use  Cornwall  clay  in  "  transparent  "  ware  only, 
leaving  open  to  the  pottery  trade  its  use  in  opaque  ware  of 
every  kind.  It  hampered  Wedgwood  from  ever  making 
porcelain. 

In  1767  Wedgwood  writes:  "The  demand  for  the 
Cream-colour,  alias  Queen's  Ware,  alias  Ivory  still  in- 
creases. It  is  really  amazing  how  rapidly  the  use  has  spread 
allmost  over  the  whole  globe  and  how  universally  it  is 
liked." 

In  fact  in  this  year  it  was  to  be  found  on  sale  in  Russia, 
France,  Germany,  Spain,  America,  East  and  West  Indies, 
the  Baltic  ports  and  Holland. 

The  most  celebrated  set  he  ever  made  in  cream-coloured 
ware  was  the  one  which  filled  an  order  from  Queen  Cathe- 
rine of  Russia.  It  is  not  nearly  as  artistic  as  many  of  his 
simpler  productions,  since  the  presence  of  a  green  frog  on 
every  piece  is  a  positive  defect.  The  set  was  to  be  used  at 

33 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

"  La  Grenouilliere  "  at  Tzarsko-selo  near  St.  Petersburg. 
It  was  commenced  in  April,  1773,  and  contained  952  pieces. 
The  cost  of  the  plain  ware  for  the  dinner  service  was  £36 
6s.  and  for  the  dessert  service  £15  2s.  4d.  The  decorative 
work  cost  £2290  I2s.  4d.  and  the  amount  paid  out  for 
prints,  engravings,  books  and  having  the  views  made  cost 
£2410  more.  The  green  frogs  were  painted  by  one  man, 
Nathaniel  Cooper,  at  2j  pence  and  3  pence  each,  and  there 
are  entered  on  the  bill  1244  of  them,  so  there  must  have 
been  two  on  some  pieces.  The  scenes  depicted  were  the 
famous  mansions  of  England;  the  amount  of  work  was 
stupendous  and  the  price  received  from  Catherine,  £3000, 
quite  inadequate,  save  that  it  was  a  magnificent  advertise- 
ment and  spread  the  fame  of  Wedgwood  far  and  wide. 

In  June,  1774,  the  set  was  on  exhibition  at  the  London 
showrooms,  and  was  open  to  the  public  for  two  months. 
Mrs.  Delany,  a  fashionable  dame,  went  with  the  rest  of  the 
world  to  see  it,  and  has  recorded  her  impression  as  follows: 
"  I  am  just  returned  from  viewing  the  Wedgwood  Ware 
that  is  to  be  sent  to  the  Empress  of  Russia.  It  consists 
of  many  pieces,  I  believe  as  there  are  days  in  the  year. 
They  are  displayed  at  a  house  in  Greek  street,  '  Soho,' 
called  '  Portland  House.'  There  are  three  rooms  below  and 
two  above  filled  with  it,  laid  out  on  tables,  everything  that 
can  be  wanted  to  serve  a  dinner;  the  ground,  the  common 
ware  pale  brimstone,  the  drawings  in  purple,  the  borders  a 
wreath  of  leaves,  the  middle  of  each  particular  piece  a  view 
of  all  the  places  in  the  King's  dominions  neatly  executed.  .1 
suppose  it  will  come  to  a  princely  price,  it  is  well  for  the 
manufacturer,  which  I  am  glad  of,  as  his  ingenuity  and 
industry  deserve  encouragement."  Some  of  the  plates  in 
the  dessert  service  are  shown  in  Figure  6. 

Wedgwood's  efforts  to  improve  everything  that  he  set 

34 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

his  hand  to  never  slackened,  and  his  desire  to  get  some 
material  by  which  he  could  make  better  ware  induced 
him  in  1775  in  company  with  Turner  of  Lane  End  and 
one  or  two  others,  to  take  a  journey  through  Cornwall  in 
search  of  clays.  They  became  lessees  of  some  mines  near 
St.  Stephens,  and  a  man  named  Griffiths  who  had  been 
Wedgwood's  agent  in  South  Carolina  remained  as  manager. 

The  shades  of  cream-coloured  ware  vary  from  a  pale 
cream  through  all  the  intermediate  shades  to  saffron,  in- 
fluenced by  the  qualities  of  the  clay,  the  differences  in  de- 
gree of  heat  in  firing  and  the  many  uncertainties  which  the 
potter  has  to  contend  with.  Wedgwood  says  (1768) :  "  With 
respect  to  the  colour  of  my  ware,  I  endeavour  to  make  it 
as  pale  as  possible  to  continue  in  cream-colour,  and  find  my 
customers  in  general,  though  not  every  individual  of  them, 
think  the  alteration  I  have  made  in  that  respect  a  great 
improvement,  but  it  is  impossible  that  any  one  colour,  even 
though  it  were  come  down  from  Heaven,  shod,  please  every 
taste,  and  I  cannot  regularly  make  two  cream-colours,  a 
deep  and  a  light  shade,  without  having  two  works  for  that 
purpose.  Nor  have  I  any  clay  to  make  with  certainty  a 
very  light  colour  for  Teaware." 

Miss  Meteyard  gives  a  list  of  the  pieces  comprising  a 
service  of  Queen's  Ware  of  "  middling  size,"  such  as  were 
sent  all  over  the  world  by  Wedgwood. 

"  Two  Oval  dishes,  19  in. 
Two  ditto  dishes,  17  in. 
Two  Round  dishes,  17  in. 
Two  Round  dishes,  15  in. 
Four  Oval  dishes,  13  in. 
Four  Oval  dishes,  n  in. 
Four  Oval  dishes,  n  in. 

35 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

Four  Oval  dishes,  n  in. 

Four  Round. 

Two  Terrines  for  Soup. 

Two  Sauce  Terrines. 

Four  Sauce  Terrines. 

Two  Salad  Dishes. 

Six  Salts. 

Two  Mustard  Pots. 

Four  Pickle  Dishes. 

Six  Dozen  Flat  Plates. 

Two  Dozen  Soup  Plates." 

This  service,  plain,  was  sold  at  £3  175.  When  dec- 
orated the  price  varied  according  to  the  amount  of  decora- 
tion. In  1783  a  table  and  tea-service  was  printed  by  Sad- 
ler and  Green  for  David  Garrick,  with  an  edging  and 
cypher  of  the  letters  D.  G.,  the  cost  of  which  work  was 
£8  6s.  ijd. 

In  addition  to  the  pieces  composing  table  and  tea-serv- 
ices, there  were  many  miscellaneous  articles  made.  "  Fish 
drainers  oval  and  round.  Root  dishes  with  pans  to  keep 
them  hot,  Covered  Dishes,  see  Figure  7,  Soup  Dishes  with 
covers,  Dishes  for  Water  Zootjes  (Dutch  fish),  Herring 
Dishes  single  or  double,  Ice  pails,  Pickle  stands,  Leaves  and 
shells  of  different  kinds,  Epergnes  for  the  middle  of  the 
table,  Egg  Baskets  to  keep  boiled  eggs  hot,  Egg  Cups  with 
or  without  covers.  Oil  and  Vinegar  Stands,  Egg  Spoons, 
Table  Candlesticks  of  different  patterns  from  9-14  in.  high, 
Bread  Baskets  oval  or  round,  Cheese  Toasters  with 
Water  Pans,  Oval  and  round  Potting  Pots,  Pudding 
Cups,  shapes  for  Blanc-mange,  Asparagus  pans,  Monteiths 
for  keeping  Glasses  cool  in  water,  Curvettes,  Cheese  Plates, 
Beer  mugs  and  Jugs  with  or  without  covers,  Large  soup 

36 


FIG.    8.     CREAM-COLOURED    WARE,     PAINTED  AND   PRINTED. 


FIG.     9.     ORANGE     BASKET.  FIG.    10.      FLOWER    POT. 


FIG.      n.     CREAM-COLOURED     WARE. 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

Ladles,  Fruit  Baskets  with  or  without  covers.  Sweet- 
meat Baskets,  Croquants  or  Sweet-meat  Dishes,  Glacieres 
(for  Ice-Cream),  Ice-cream  Cups  and  covers,  Ice-cream, 
bowls,  Strawberry  Dishes  and  Stands,  Custard  cups,  Tartlets, 
Dessert  Spoons,  Water  Plates  with  covers  to  keep  toast  & 
butter  warm,  Gondolas  for  Dry  toast,  Butter  tubs  &  stands, 
wash  hand  basons  &  ewers,  Shaving  Basons,  Punch  bowls, 
Spitting  pots,  Sauce  Pans  for  cooking,  Night  Lamps  to 
keep  any  liquid  warm  all  night,  &  Table  &  toilet  candle- 
sticks with  extinguishers." 

Even  this  long  list  does  not  cover  all  the  articles  made, 
for  Wedgwood  was  constantly  adding  new  articles  of  use 
to  those  already  made.  His  coffee,  tea  and  chocolate 
services  with  kettles  and  lamps  were  of  great  beauty,  and 
quite  recently  I  saw  a  tall  vessel  for  keeping  liquid  warm 
with  a  place  below  for  a  small  lamp.  There  was  no  coloured 
decoration,  but  the  top  was  ornamented  with  a  charming 
design  in  punched  work,  in  which  Wedgwood  particularly 
excelled,  inventing  many  small  tools  so  as  to  vary  the  pat- 
terns. Many  very  choice  dessert  services  have  this  punched 
work  on  the  rims,  and  he  used  it  on  teapots  with  good  ef- 
fect. "  Pierced  &  gilt "  are  terms  seen  on  many  lists  of  his 
wares.  On  the  printed  ware,  he  not  only  supplied  the  de- 
sign but  saw  to  it  that  they  were  varied.  Each  dozen 
plates  of  dinner  sets  had  different  central  ornament;  each 
dish,  tureen,  and  centre-piece  was  also  different. 

All  nature  yielded  patterns  for  his  guidance.  Flowers, 
birds,  see  Figure  8,  insects,  sea-weeds  and  shells  were  all 
atilised.  Coats  of  arms  and  crests  were  either  painted  or 
printed,  and  the  choicest  sets  had  enamelled  borders. 

From  1769  the  demand  for  this  cream-coloured  ware 
constantly  increased,  and  in  1774  Miss  Meteyard  gives  as 
the  most  popular  border  designs: 

37 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

"  Printed  bird  pattern, 

Oat  border, 

Arrow  pattern. 

Green  flowers. 

Green  husks. 

Strawberry  leaf. 

Black  flowers. 

Blue  shell  edge. 

Green  shell  edge. 

Ivy  border  with  springs. 

Purple  arrow  heads. 

Purple  antique. 

Etruscan  red  and  black  borders. 

Etruscan  green  and  black. 

Marine  pattern,   purple  edge. 

Calico  pattern  and  springs. 

Green  double  lines. 

Brown  double  lines. 

Laurel  border. 

Green  feather  edge  and  flower. 

Green  oat  leaf. 

Blue  lines. 

Brown  antique  border. 

Red  border. 

Greek  border. 

Shaded  figures  purple  grounds. 

Queens  pattern,  red  birds. 

Black  pencilled. 

Enamelled  shagreen." 

When  the  demand  for  these  services  grew  to  such  large 
proportions,  Wedgwood  had  borders  enamelled  at  his  own 
works  for  this  purpose  at  Chelsea,  1774,  and  finally,  by 
1784,  did  much  of  his  own  printed  ware  too,  while  Green 

38 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

continued  to  print  the  old  standard  patterns.  The  year 
before  the  death  of  Thomas  Wedgwood  at  Burslem,  1787, 
the  number  of  border  patterns  had  increased.  There  were, 
in  addition  to  those  already  given: 

"  Honeysuckle  in  several  colours. 

Red  Etruscan. 

Black  and  red  spike. 

Brown  edge  inside. 

Brown  husk. 

Blue  convolvulus  with  green  leaves. 

Deep  rose  colour,  bell  drops. 

Red   and   black   strawberry  leaf  with   drop. 

Double  laurel. 

Brown  Etruscan. 

Dotted  border. 

Green  and  shaded  purple. 

Royal  pattern  pencilled  landscapes. 

Light  green  bell  drops. 

Broad  pea-green  and  mauve." 

The  enamelled  borders  were  almost  infinite  in  their 
variety.  They  were  made  to  order,  and  crests  and  coats 
of  arms  introduced  to  suit  owners.  The  ware  itself  of 
the  "  old  "  period  is  very  beautiful  from  the  perfection  of 
each  piece.  The  plates  were  absolutely  true  and  symmetrical, 
his  bowls  and  dishes  "nest"  with  accuracy,  and  no  piece 
was  too  simple  or  too  "  useful "  not  to  be  made  as  well  as 
possible. 

The  twigged  work  was  always  graceful  and  beautiful, 
as  the  orange  basket  shown  in  Figure  9  abundantly  testi- 
fies, and  even  milk  pans  and  watering-pots  were  as  care- 
fully studied.  The  punched  "  lozenge  "  work  on  the  flower 
pot  in  Figure  10  shows  how  ornamental  so  simple  a  device 

39 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

may  be  made  when  skilfully  applied.  Figure  n  shows 
candlesticks  and  a  charming  tea-caddy,  with  a  design  by 
Roquet. 

Cream-coloured  ware  was  not  used  only  in  the  "  useful  " 
department,  but  very  beautiful  vases  were  formed  of  it  as 
well.  The  early  specimens  are  of  small  size,  ribbed  or 
fluted,  the  later  ones  showing  choice  ornament  in  the  way 
of  floral  festoons,  handles  and  drapery.  The  patterns  were 
part  printed,  part  painted,  sometimes  touched  up  with  gold, 
occasionally  finished  with  punched  or  pierced  work.  The 
cream  ware  was  the  body  for  the  mottled,  marbled  and 
"  surface  agate,"  and  some  were  made,  and  referred  to 
particularly  by  Wedgwood,  in  which  the  neck  and  serpent 
handles  were  coloured  blue,  the  body  of  the  vase  left  in  its 
cream  tint  or  enriched  with  gold. 

These  cream  vases  in  all  their  varieties  were  boldly 
copied  at  Leeds,  but  in  an  inferior  style.  The  Stafford- 
shire makers  imitated  anything  they  could  lay  their  hands 
on,  and  with  regard  to  the  "  blue  necked "  vases,  Wedg- 
wood cautions  Bentley  to  be  sure  he  knows  to  whom  he 
sells  such  things,  else  they  will  be  back  at  the  Potteries  by 
the  first  carriers'  cart. 

The  cost  of  many  of  these  cream  ware  vases  was  high. 
"  Cream  ware  vases  with  serpents,  satyr's  heads,  husk  fes- 
toons, and  black  necks,  feet  and  ornaments,  £2  2s.  each." 
1769. 

The  vases,  by  wholesale,  ranged  from  one  shilling  to  sev- 
eral pounds,  according  to  their  size  and  decorations.  It 
is  rare  to  come  across  one  now.  Bentley  never  had  any 
share  in  the  profit  of  even  ornamental  cream  ware,  and  the 
demand  for  it  in  useful  forms  was  so  large,  and  the  ex- 
quisite vases  made  in  other  materials  so  popular  that  the 
making  of  cream  ware  vases  gradually  ceased. 

40 


BASALTES 

1762-1795 

THE  making  of  "  black  ware,"  "  Egyptian  black 
clay,"  or  "  basaltes,"  as  it  is  variously  called,  had 
long  been  practised  in  The  Potteries.  Indeed, 
during  Roman  times  and  the  Middle  Ages,  it  was 
one  of  the  commonest  materials  used  in  pottery.  Besides 
being  formed  into  vessels  of  one  kind  or  another,  it  was 
made  into  tiles  as  well. 

The  method  of  making  it  as  practised  by  the  Elers 
Brothers  about  1700  was  simple  enough,  as  the  materials 
were  ironstone  and  ted  clay.  Miss  Meteyard  says  that 
from  17101715  there  were  forty-three  pot-works  at  Burs- 
lem,  and  of  these,  seventeen  produced  black  ware  as  well  as 
the  variously  marbled,  combed  and  mottled  ones,  while  the 
Churchyard  Works,  carried  on  by  the  father  of  Josiah 
Wedgwood,  produced  only  mottled  and  black  ware.  From 
time  to  time  others  of  the  Staffordshire  potters  experi- 
mented with  it,  but  it  was  Wedgwood  who  finally  brought 
it  to  its  point  of  perfection.  The  formula  he  used  con- 
tained native  clay,  ironstone,  ochre  and  oxide  of  manga- 
nese. The  quality  of  this  basaltes  when  fired  was  ex- 
tremely hard  and  fine,  susceptible  of  taking  a  high  polish 
on  a  wheel,  or  of  being  left  with  its  velvety  surface,  this 
latter  dull  colour  being  generally  preferred. 

Wedgwood  himself  calls  it  "  a  fine  black  porcelain  "  and 
"equal  in  hardness  to  agate  or  porphyry."  Although  this 
material  seems  more  suitable  to  articles  of  ornament,  many 

41 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

pieces  of  "  useful  ware "  were  made  in  it,  see  Figure  12. 
There  were  also  odd  tea  and  coffee  pots,  eye  cups,  ink 
stands  of  endless  patterns,  many  extremely  beautiful  lamps, 
salt  cellars,  flower  pots,  trays,  and  urns. 

Many  of  these  were  plain,  relying  on  their  beauty  of 
form  for  their  success,  see  Figure  13,  while  others  were 
decorated  with  engine-turned  patterns,  with  bas-reliefs,  or 
the  two  combined.  In  some  cases  where  the  figures  were 
single  ones,  they  made  processions  about  the  bodies  of  tea- 
pots and  vases,  their  positions  being  altered  so  as  to  make 
endless  varieties. 

The  handles  of  the  vases  exhibited  much  fertility  of  in- 
vention; there  were  animals,  heads,  dolphins,  sphinxes,  or 
plain  forms  of  classic  shape. 

The  vases  shown  in  Fig.  14  exhibit  the  highest  class 
basaltes  vases.  The  mark  on  these  vases  is  in  a  raised 
medallion  in  circular  form;  giving  both  names,  and  some- 
times in  addition  the  word  "  Etruria."  Basaltes  also  formed 
the  base  for  the  Etruscan  ware  made  in  imitation  of  the 
ancient  Etruscan  vases.  It  was  also  used  for  the  base  of 
those  pieces  to  which  "  bronze  "  was  applied. 

In  the  ornamental  branch  were  also  busts  from  four 
to  twenty-five  inches  in  height,  statuettes,  small  groups, 
sphinxes,  tritons,  medallions,  cameos  and  vases.  Many  of 
the  best  models  obtained  by  Wedgwood  were  used  for  this 
ware,  such  as  charming  little  figures  by  Mrs.  Landre,  Theo- 
dore Parker,  Denby,  Boot,  and  William  Hackwood,  whose 
presence  at  Etruria  is  first  spoken  of  in  1770. 

Voyez  modelled  the  earliest  bas-reliefs  in  1766,  and  they 
were  used  to  set  in  chimney  pieces,  occasionally  by  the 
brothers  Adam,  the  architects,  as  well  as  by  individual  pur- 
chasers. He  also  modelled  seals  and  some  of  the  articles 
in  useful  ware. 

43 


FIG.  12.   BASALTES  TEA  SERVICE. 


FIG.  13.  BASALTES  VASE. 


FIG.  14.  BASALTES  VASES. 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

Besides  Mrs.  Landre,  Wedgwood  employed  many  other 
feminine  artists  either  as  modellers,  enamellers,  or  design- 
ers. Richard  Parker  modelled  figures  and  animals;  P. 
Stephan  also  modelled  animals,  not  entirely  to  Wedgwood's 
satisfaction.  There  were  Hoskins  and  Grant,  who  made 
moulds;  Lady  Templetown  made  charming  sketches  of 
children,  while  Webber  modelled  such  dainty  subjects  as 
"  Cupid,  a  model,"  "  Hebe,"  "  Cupid  drawing  his  dart," 
"Triumph  of  Mars,"  etc.,  besides  many  articles  like  cups 
and  vases.  In  1787  he  went  to  Rome  under  Wedgwood's 
employment,  where  he  made  models  and  drawings,  and  after 
his  return  continued  at  Etruria  till  Wedgwood's  death. 
He  was  a  valuable  assistant  when  the  Barberini  vase  was 
being  copied,  and  gave  much  assistance  till  the  copies  were 
successfully  made. 

Lochee  modelled  small  articles,  and  assisted  by  a  man 
named  Peart  copied  many  antique  gems.  Wyatt  the  artist 
and  Westmacott  also  did  some  work  for  Wedgwood,  and 
there  was  also  Devaere,  who  succeeded  Webber  at  the  Or- 
namental works,  and  who,  on  his  return  from  Italy,  where 
he  had  followed  Flaxman,  Anglicised  his  name  to  John  De 
Vere.  There  was  also  John  Bacon,  John  Coward,  Edward 
Watson,  who  modelled  the  first  ink-stand  used,  Isaac  Gos- 
set,  Thomas  Astle,  James  Tassie,  who  for  many  years 
did  much  work  for  Mr.  Wedgwood,  Pingo  and  Pacetti, 
Italians,  the  latter  of  whom  modelled  "  Birth  of  Achilles," 
"  Priam  begging  from  Achilles  the  body  of  Hector,"  and 
numerous  other  subjects  both  original  and  copied.  There 
was  also  Angelo  Dalmazzoni,  who  from  1787  till  Wedg- 
wood's death,  in  1795,  copied  from  the  antique  and  origi- 
nated many  bas-reliefs  and  cameos.  Dalmazzoni  also  em- 
ployed two  cameo  cutters,  Fratoddi  and  Mangiarotti,  who 
copied  the  finest  antiques,  and  made  models  for  Wedgwood's 

43 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

use  of  quantities  of  very  choice  ones.  Other  artists  who 
worked  for  Etruria  under  Dalmazzoni's  direction  were 
Manzolini,  Cades  and  Angelini.  Nearly  every  ship  from 
Leghorn  carried  boxes  of  cameos,  prints  and  moulds  to 
Wedgwood,  who  copied  in  his  choicest  materials  those  beau- 
tiful figures  and  cameos. 

The  foremost  artist  employed  by  Wedgwood,  the  one  to 
whom  he  was  indebted  for  many  of  his  choicest  designs, 
was  John  Flaxman.  It  was  through  Mr.  Bentley  that 
he  was  procured  as  a  modeller,  and  in  January,  1775,  he 
began  to  work.  His  first  bill  included  work  done  in  March 
and  April,  1775,  and  mentions  models  for  vases,  bas- 
reliefs  and  medals.  In  the  summer  more  work  was  sent 
him,  making  portraits,  and  till  1779  he  was  busy  modelling 
the  heads  of  illustrious  Greeks,  busts,,  many  bas-reliefs, 
such  as  the  "  Dancing  Hours,"  "  Muses  with  Apollo," 
"  Silenus  and  Boys,"  "  Bacchanals,"  "  Fauns,"  "  Sacrifice 
to  Pan,"  and  the  "  Marriage  of  Cupid  and  Psyche,"  one  of 
his  most  charming  designs.  He  was  particularly  felicitous 
in  his  delineations  of  childhood,  and  his  cupids,  children 
playing  with  animals,  etc.,  were  most  popular,  and  made 
beautiful  many  pieces  of  "  useful  ware,"  as  well  as  being 
applied  to  the  choicer  "  ornaments." 

It  is  not  possible  here  td  go  into  a  detailed  account 
of  John  Flaxman's  career.  Sufficiently  well  known  is  his 
trip  to  Rome  in  1787,  for  which  Josiah  Wedgwood  ad- 
vanced the  money.  Many  and  beautiful  were  the  designs 
and  models  he  sent  home  to  Etruria,  not  his  work  alone, 
but  work  done  by  others  under  his  direction.  He  com- 
pleted several  commissions  of  his  own  for  sculptures  during 
his  seven  years'  residence  in  Rome,  and  returned  to  England 
but  one  year  before  the  death  of  his  generous  patron. 

It  was  to  the  basaltes  vases  that  the  charming  design  of 

44 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

the  "  Dancing  Hours  "  by  Flaxman  was  first  applied,  and 
achieved  great  popularity.  Wedgwood  himself  says  of  these 
basaltes  vases  in  his  catalogue  for  1779:  "There  are  a 
great  variety  of  forms,  chiefly  Grecian  or  Etruscan;  the 
sizes  from  three  or  four  inches  high  to  more  than  two  feet. 
The  prices  from  seven  shillings  and  sixpence  a  piece  to 
three  or  four  guineas,  excluding  the  very  large  ones,  and 
those  pieces  which  consist  of  many  parts,  and  are  very  highly 
finished.  The  sets  of  five  pieces  for  chimney-pieces,  sell 
from  about  two  guineas  to  six  or  seven  guineas  a  set.  From 
all  the  specimens  we  have  seen,  and  the  observations  of 
others,  we  have  reason  to  conclude  that  there  are  not  any 
vases  of  porcelain,  marble  or  bronze,  either  ancient  or  mod- 
ern, so  highly  finished  and  sharp  in  their  ornaments  as  these 
black  vases ;  and  on  this  account,  together  with  the  pre 
cision  of  their  outlines,  and  the  simplicity  of  their  antique 
forms,  they  have  had  the  honour  of  being  highly  and  fre- 
quently recommended  by  many  of  the  connoisseurs  in  Eu- 
rope; and  of  being  placed  amongst  the  finest  productions 
of  the  age,  in  the  palaces  and  cabinets  of  several  princes." 

Portrait  medallions  in  black  basaltes,  while  not  as  popular 
as  those  in  jasper,  were  much  in  demand  by  the  "  nobility 
and  gentry."  A  set  of  portraits  known  as  "  Illustrious 
Moderns  "  were  made  in  basaltes  as  well  as  in  a  creamy 
white  biscuit,  but  after  the  discovery  of  jasper  and  its  ap- 
plication to  this  use  about  1777,  this  material  was  the  most 
used.  A  basaltes  portrait  of  Josiah  Wedgwood,  modelled 
by  William  Hackwood  and  signed  W.  H.,  is  given  in 
Figure  15. 

A  pair  of  black  basaltes  vases  decorated  with  the  reliefs 
of  the  "  Dancing  Hours "  by  Flaxman  brought  at  the 
Wills  sale  $370.  They  were  unusually  small,  7^  inches 
high,  and  marked.  A  pair  1 1  £  inches  high  with  handles  of 

45 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

masks  and  serpents,  date  1790,  brought  $260.  A  single 
vase,  basaltes,  1775,  n  inches  high,  with  medallion  (Three 
Graces),  by  Flaxman,  $50. 

Plinths,  or  the  bases  on  which  vases  of  other  materials 
were  mounted,  were  often  made  of  basaltes,  frequently 
very  highly  polished.  Impressions  from  cameos  were  also 
made  in  this  black  ware,  to  be  used  either  for  rings,  seals, 
bracelets  or  lockets,  and  proved  exceedingly  durable.  They 
varied  in  size  from  J  of  an  inch  to  2  inches,  and  may  oc- 
casionally be  found  as  large  as  2j  inches,  but  these  were  for 
cabinet  use.  Both  the  medallions  and  intaglios  in  basaltes 
were  much  pirated,  but  the  excellence  of  Wedgwood's 
pieces,  the  perfection  of  the  field  on  which  the  raised  por- 
tion of  the  medallion  is  placed,  the  finish  of  this  latter,  the 
careful  undercutting,  are  unmistakable. 

In  the  last  edition  of  the  catalogue,  1787,  Wedgwood 
writes  about  them  as  follows:  "The  intaglios,  as  now  im- 
proved, take  a  good  polish;  and  when  polished  have  exactly 
the  effect  of  fine  black  basaltes  or  jasper.  Another  method 
has  been  discovered  of  adding  very  considerably  to  their 
beauty,  by  making  the  intaglio  part  black,  and  the  flat 
surface  blue  and  highly  polished,  by  which  means  they 
are  made  to  imitate  the  black  and  blue  onyx,  (or  niccolo) 
with  great  exactness,  and  become  equally  ornamental  for 
rings  as  for  seals.  They  are  now  made  and  polished,  in 
imitation  of  various  coloured  agates  and  other  stones  and  in 
cyphers,  with  the  letters  of  one  colour  and  the  ground  of 
another.  The  correct  sharpness  and  superior  hardness  of 
these  intaglios  have  now  been  sufficiently  ascertained  by 
experience." 

When  the  intaglios  and  cameos  left  the  works,  they  were 
carefully  wrapped  in  papers  which  had  the  name  of  the 
subject  and  catalogue  number  printed  on  it.  Impressed  on 

46 


FIG.    15.     JOSIAH    WEDGWOOD. 


FIG.     i6A.     A    VESTAL. 


FIG.    i6B.     GEORGE    WHITFIELD. 


FIG.     17.     CAMEOS  MOUNTED  IN  GOLD. 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

some  of  the  pieces  is  the  catalogue  number,  which  in  such 
cases  can  be  identified,  and  on  the  larger  ones  may  some- 
times be  found  the  letters,  W.  &  B.  A  beautiful  example 
"A  Vestal  "  15^  in.  high  is  given  in  Figure  16. 

By  far  the  greater  number  of  busts  made  by  Wedgwood 
were  in  basaltes,  but  there  were  occasional  ones  in  cane- 
colour,  in  red  ware  and  in  white  terra-cotta. 

Not  only  were  they  made  in  plain  black  basaltes,  but 
also  in  "  bronzed  ware,"  which  was  the  basaltes  covered 
with  a  bronzed  powder  and  fired.  Few  of  these  bronzed 
were  made  since  the  plain  basaltes  was  so  much  more 
popular. 

The  first  subjects  made,  a  little  prior  to  1773,  were  Cic- 
ero, Horace,  George  II.  The  work  of  making  them,  first 
modelling  them,  then  preparing  the  moulds  took  much 
time,  but  by  1775,  a  large  number  in  various  sizes,  and 
different  representations  of  the  same  person,  were  put  on 
the  market. 

They  never  were  cheap — in  1775  the  wholesale  prices 
of  the  largest  sized  busts  being,  Homer,  £3  33.;  Cicero, 
£2  2s. ;  Venus  de  Medici,  £2  2s. ;  etc. 

In  1866,  at  Christie's  one  of  these  large  busts  sold  for 
£17  175.,  and  they  have  grown  very  difficult  to  find.  There 
were  a  number  of  them  at  the  sale  of  the  Wills  collection 
in  1908;  one  of  Cicero,  modelled  by  Bacon,  10  inches  high, 
date  1777,  marked  Wedgwood  &  Bentley,  with  name  of 
subjects  in  incised  letters,  brought  $80.  This  bust  was 
one  of  those  originally  bronzed,  but  this  had  worn  off, 
showing  the  basaltes.  There  was  one  of  the  "  Antinous," 
modelled  by  Flaxman,  21  inches  high,  name  of  subject  and 
Wedgwood  &  Bentley  incised  on  back,  date  1774.  Brought 
$110. 

Another  bust,  originally  bronzed,  10  inches  high,"  Seneca," 

47 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

modelled  by  Bacon,  marked  twice,  on  back  and  on  base,  with 
name  of  subject  incised,  date  1777.  Brought  $42.50.  After 
the  death  of  Bentley  these  busts  were  marked  "  Wedg- 
wood," and  occasionally  a  single  letter  or  figure  was  added, 
meaning  superior  quality.  The  letter  O  and  figure  3,  used 
together  or  separately,  indicate  the  best  quality  and  period. 
They  are  always  found  in  connection  with  the  name.  It 
should  be  remembered  that  when  three  capital  letters  are 
used  together,  the  piece  on  which  they  are  found  is  com- 
paratively modern,  not  going  further  back  than  1845. 

Under  the  head  of  "  basaltes "  should  also  be  placed 
those  vases  called  by  Wedgwood  "  Etruscan  and  Grecian 
Painted." 

It  is  in  connection  with  these  vases  that  Wedgwood 
took  out  the  only  patent  he  ever  applied  for  to  protect  his 
inventions.  This  was  in  November,  1769.  It  was  not 
long  before  imitations  of  the  Grecian  vases  were  on  the 
market,  made  in  clumsy  fashion  by  Neale  and  Palmer,  pot- 
ters of  Hanley.  In  1771  a  compromise  was  agreed  on, 
Neale  and  Palmer  were  allowed  to  have  a  share  in  the 
patent,  and  they  made,  till  1778,  many  of  these  encaustic 
painted  vases. 

The  first  of  these  vases  produced  by  Wedgwood  were 
crude,  but  as  the  methods  were  perfected,  they  increased 
in  beauty,  and  two  skilful  painters,  Rhodes  and  Crofts, 
decorated  the  vases.  Later  in  addition  to  these  two,  were 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wilcox,  who  painted  at  Etruria  and  Chel- 
sea. The  clever  work  of  the  latter  in  figures  was  much 
admired.  She  died  in  1776.  There  were  also  Thomas 
Glover,  Christopher  Taylor,  Simcock,  Hutchins,  Denby, 
Browne,  Cooper,  Bakewdl,  George  Barrett,  L.  F.  Roubi- 
liac,  Le  Brun,  Aaron  Steel  and  Ralph  Unwin. 

To  Steel  was  assigned  the  work  of  painting  the  drapery, 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

etc.,  on  the  choicest  encaustic  vases,  and  from  1784,  when 
he  first  signed  an  agreement  with  Wedgwood,  till  almost 
a  quarter  of  a  century  later,  he  still  worked  for  the  firm. 
The  decorating  shops  were  in  London  and  Chelsea,  and  al- 
though the  first  vases  were  made  as  early  as  1768,  the  best 
period  was  embraced  between  the  years  1777-1795. 

The  expense  of  producing  these  vases  was  great,  but  after 
a  time  the  design  was  printed  on,  and  filled  in  by  hand.  There 
was  great  demand  for  these  vases,  and  from  persons  able  to 
pay  the  highest  price,  so  eventually  there  were  three  styles, 
those  entirely  hand  painted,  running  from  fifteen  guineas 
up;  those  partly  printed  then  filled  in  by  hand,  and  those 
entirely  printed.  These  latter  were  small,  and  not  by  any 
means  high  class,  but  there  was,  nevertheless,  a  demand  for 
them  wherever  the  more  costly  ones  went.  The  subjects 
employed  on  these  vases  were  taken  from  antique  bas-re- 
liefs, paintings  and  gems.  They  were  sold  singly,  in  pairs, 
sets  of  three  and  five  for  mantel  shelves,  and  sometimes 
even  in  sets  of  seven.  There  were  also  encaustic  tablets 
for  chimney  pieces  and  wall  decoration,  with  the  same 
subjects  as  the  vases.  They  do  not  seem  to  have  been  made 
in  very  large  quantities,  however. 

At  the  Russian  court,  in  Italy,  the  home  of  art,  and  in 
Holland  too,  these  splendid  examples  of  encaustic  paintings 
found  homes.  They  could  not  be  too  long  or  too  costly ; 
even  one  vase  seven  feet  high,  which  was  a  show-room  or- 
nament in  Greek  Street,  found  a  purchaser  in  a  German 
prince. 

Nor  can  the  American  colonies  be  left  out.  They  were 
appreciative  buyers  of  Wedgwood's  choicest  wares.  One  of 
these  encaustic  vases  which  was  bought  at  the  sale  of  Mr. 
Aspinwall's  collection  in  New  York,  has  weathered  many 
a  housemaid's  duster,  and  is  now  passing  a  revered  old  age, 

49 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

in  a  sheltered  cabinet.  At  one  time  it  was  thought  to  be 
broken,  but  on  examination  it  was  found  that  the  iron  screw 
which  held  the  foot  to  the  body  of  the  vase,  had  rusted 
out,  a  sure  sign  of  its  age.  Indeed  these  iron  screws  are 
one  of  the  indications  of  the  "  Old  Wedgwood  "  period, 
though  sometimes,  as  in  this  case,  they  have  had  to  be  re- 
placed. 

While  basaltes  was  the  body  used  for  the  encaustic 
vases,  it  was  occasionally  chemically  treated  so  that  it  took 
on  a  brownish  or  bluish  cast. 

As  in  the  basaltes  vases  themselves,  when  in  the  encaustic 
vases  the  ground  was  left  black,  it  might  be  shining  or  a 
dead  black. 


BUSTS   IN   BASALTES 

25   INCHES  HIGH 

M.  AURELIUS  ANTONINUS  MARCUS  BRUTUS 

LORD  CHATHAM  PINDAR 

'ZENO  HOMER 

PLATO  CORNELIUS  DE  WITT 

EPICURUS  JOHN  DE  WITT 
JUNIUS  BRUTUS 

22  INCHES  HIGH 

ANTINOUS  PALLADIO 

AUGUSTUS  DEMOSTHENES 

ANTONINUS  Pius  MINERVA 
INIGO  JONES 

20  INCHES  HIGH 

CATO  DR.  SWIFT 

FAUSTINA  HORACE 

ROUSSEAU  GROTIUS 

CICERO  SENECA 
SOCRATES 

1 8  INCHES  HIGH 

LORD  BACON  NEWTON 

JOHNSON  VENUS  DE  MEDICI 

RALEIGH  BOYLE 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

l6J   INCHES    HIGH 

YOUNG  GERMANICUS  AGRIPPINA 

YOUNG  MARCUS  AURELIUS  DR.  FOTHERGILL 


15  INCHES  HIGH 


HOMER 

DEMOCRITUS 

HIPPOCRATES 

GALEN 

ARISTOTLE 

CICERO 

VESTAL 

ZINGARA 

CHAUCER 

BEAUMONT 

FLETCHER 

SHAKESPEARE 

MILTON 

CONGREVE 

PRIOR 

SWIFT 


CICERO 
LOCKE 

NEWTON 


POPE 

PLATO 

SAPPHO 

JULIA 

SENECA 

VIRGIL 

ADDISON 

DRYDEN 

HORACE 

JONSON 

SPENSER 

MADONNA 

LOCKE 

NEWTON 

BOERHAAVE 

MICHAEL  DE  RUYTER 


10  TO   IlJ  INCHES  HIGH 

GEORGE  I. 
VOLTAIRE 


7   AND   8   INCHES   HIGH 


SOCRATES  NEWTON 

ARISTOTLE  LOCKE 

MARCUS  ANTONY  PRIOR 

CLEOPATRA   (reclining)  CONGREVE 

52 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

4  TO  4j  INCHES  HIGH 

HOMER  ROUSSEAU 

BACCHUS  PINDAR 

ARIADNE  ARISTOPHANES 

MONTESQUIEU  VOLTAIRE 


53 


JASPER  WARE 

1775-1795 

THE  jasper  ware  as  perfected  by  Wedgwood  is  con- 
sidered the  most  successful  of  his  numerous  prod- 
ucts.    The   body   is   white   and   resembles   terra- 
cotta in  appearance;  its  ingredients  were  barytes, 
barium  carbonate,  clay  and  flint.    The  use  of  barytes  (barium 
sulphate)  gave  to  the  body  a  texture  of  great  beauty,  almost 
as  translucent  as  porcelain,  and  capable  of  being  stained 
with  the  metallic  oxides.     The  principal  colours  produced 
in  the  jasper  were  seven  in  number,  the  familiar  dark  blue, 
a  medium  blue,  two  shades  of  green,  lavender  or  lilac,  a 
fine  black '  more  translucent  than  basaltes,  and  a  splendid 
yellow.     Chocolate  brown  and  a  cold  shade  of  grey  were 
also  developed,  the  brown  often  being  used  in  the  shape  of 
small  ornaments  on  fields  of  another  colour. 

The  perfected  jasper  was  the  result  of  years  of  careful 
study,  of  endless  experiments  of  which  careful  notes  were 
kept,  and  of  a  patience  which  was  almost  phenomenal.  Mr. 
Burton  in  his  "  English  Earthenware  and  Stoneware  "  says: 
"  Among  the  white  minerals  with  which  he  was  experiment- 
ing in  1773  were  the  native  spars  or  earths  containing 
barium.  From  the  lead  mines  of  Derbyshire  he  obtained 
both  barium  sulphate,  known  as  '  heavy  spar '  or  '  cawk,' 
and  barium  carbonate.  At  first  he  was  much  puzzled  at 
the  different  behaviour  of  these  two  minerals  when  they 
were  fired  with  mixtures  of  clay  and  flint;  and  as  he  does 
not  seem  to  have  known  the  simple  method  of  distinguish- 

54 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

ing  between  them  by  the  mere  action  of  a  drop  of  acid,  it 
took  him  considerable  time  and  experiment  to  discover  that 
barium  sulphate  or  barytes  was  the  mineral  which  would 
answer  his  purposes,  while  the  carbonate  could  only  be  used 
in  exceedingly  small  quantities  to  increase  the  fusibility  of 
the  mixtures.  He  appears  to  have  tried  these  new  ingredi- 
ents with  every  variety  of  white-burning  clay,  such  as  the 
plastic  tertiary  clays  of  Dorset  and  Devon,  and  the  white 
china  clay  of  Cornwall,  along  with  varying  proportions  of 
flint  and  Cornish  stone." 

By  the  end  of  1776  perfection  was  attained  both  in  the 
body  and  means  for  firing  it,  and  Wedgwood  endeavoured 
to  keep  secret  the  composition  of  the  new  body.  He  writes 
to  Bentley:  "You  can  hardly  conceive  the  difficulty  and 
trouble  I  have  had  in  mixing  two  tons  of  this  composition, 
and  leaving  everybody  as  wise  as  they  were." 

Miss  Meteyard  says :  "  At  Etruria  Hall,  the  places  are 
still  to  be  seen  in  which  Wedgwood  stored  the  cawk  and 
other  materials,  and  made  his  secret  mixtures.  They  are  a 
range  of  cellars  shut  off  from  the  rest  by  thick  partition 
walls  and  heavy  doors.  Wedgwood's  means  of  access  was 
a  trap-door,  and  a  flight  of  narrow  brick  steps  leading  from 
a  room  which  was  probably  his  study.  The  trap-door  steps 
ended  in  a  wide  passage,  and  from  this  opened  a  door  to  the 
outer  air,  as  also  the  cellar  in  which  the  mixtures  were  made, 
the  bins  or  troughs  still  remaining." 

The  colouring  matter  was  originally  applied  to  the  entire 
body,  but  this  was  found  to  be  very  costly,  so  by  1777  the 
method  of  "  jasper  dip  "  or  staining  only  the  surface  was 
introduced,  and  at  the  time  of  Bentley's  death  in  1780  was 
generally  used. 

The  application  of  figures  and  ornaments  to  the  coloured 
grounds  was  the  same  which  had  long  been  in  use  in  the 

55 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

Potteries,  and  was  called  "  sprigging."  The  moulds  were 
formed  in  plaster-of-Paris,  or  were  "  pitcher  moulds," 
which  were  made  of  clay  and  then  fired.  Into  these  moulds 
were  pressed  bits  of  white  jasper  which  were  crowded  down 
into  every  cranny  by  the  potter's  thumb.  This  gave  the  name 
of  "  thumb  moulds  "  to  these  articles.  When  the  mould 
was  filled  all  the  extra  clay  was  scraped  off  and  a  short 
time  was  allowed  for  drying.  Then  the  ornament  was 
taken  from  the  mould,  and  stuck  in  place  on  the  object,  a 
little  water  having  been  washed  over  the  jasper  so  that  the 
ornament  would  adhere  to  it.  Not  till  the  piece  had  left 
the  lapidary's  hands  were  the  vicissitudes  to  which  it  was 
subjected,  over,  for  the  ornament  might  shrink  away  from 
the  field  in  firing,  the  colour  might  be  ruined  by  gases,  the 
undercutting  might  not  be  done  with  precision,  or  it  might 
be  over  done,  in  which  case  the  body  showed  through  too 
plainly. 

The  small  cameos  were  fired  once,  but  all  the  larger  or 
finer  pieces,  twice.  Wedgwood  himself  says:  "When  the 
workman  has  finished  them  they  have  a  long  and  hazardous 
fire  to  pass  through,  which  with  the  polishing  and  finishing 
afterwards,  takes  near  a  week,  and  in  this  burning  they  are 
liable  to  various  and  unavoidable  accident,  in  which  case 
we  are  obliged  to  make  them  over  again  and  this  doubles 
the  time." 

Yet  with  all  these  things  to  guard  against,  thousands  of 
perfect  pieces  were  produced  each  year,  the  trained  workers 
under  Wedgwood's  superintendence  working  with  marvel- 
lous exactitude.  There  seems  to  have  been  no  article  which 
was  susceptible  of  being  made  in  clay,  of  too  dainty  or  ele- 
gant a  character  for  Wedgwood  to  attempt  in  his  jasper. 
Exquisite  sets  mounted  in  gold  like  the  set  of  ornaments  in 
Figure  17  were  made  in  quantities,  and  many  small  and 

56 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

perfect  copies  of  antique  gems  were  set  as  buckles,  buttons 
or  pins,  with  a  brilliant  mounting  of  cut  steel,  which  was 
even  more  effective  than  gold. 

The  following  list  from  Miss  Meteyard's  "  Handbook  " 
shows  to  how  many  purposes  the  cameos .  were  applied : 
Rings,  chatelaines,  chains,  scarf  pins,  hair  pins,  pins  for  hats, 
watches,  buckles  of  all  descriptions,  bracelets,  brooches, 
watch  keys,  lockets,  coat  buttons,  opera  glasses,  smelling 
bottles,  snuff  boxes,  Etui  cases,  patch  boxes,  toilet  and  work 
boxes,  desks,  hangers,  swords,  daggers,  door  handles,  bell 
pulls,  cloak  pins,  window  shutters,  metal  vases,  metal  urns, 
metal  boxes,  lamps,  coach  panels,  chests  of  drawers,  chimney 
pieces,  cabinets,  chairs,  swivels  and  buffets. 

Strings  of  jasper  beads  with  decoration  of  stars  were  much 
in  demand,  and  were  made  in  all  the  exquisite  shades  of 
jasper.  Smelling  bottles  of  many  shapes  were  popular,  and 
sold  wholesale  from  75.  6d.  to  135.  6d.  each. 

A  string  of  the  star  beads  brought  at  the  Wills  sale 
$57-5O«  The  scent  bottles  have  increased  a  hundred  fold 
in  value,  a  small  one,  blue  and  white,  with  decorations  by 
Flaxman,  bringing  $18. 

The  small  cameos  with  coloured  grounds  for  rings  or 
bracelets,  were  sold  in  sets  of  not  less  than  ten  for  five 
shillings  each.  Like  the  intaglios,  the  cameos  were  made 
in  minute  sizes,  running  from  one-quarter  of  an  inch  to  two 
and  a  half  inches.  The  average  size  was  one,  or  one  and  a 
half  inches. 

While  the  name  of  "  cameos  "  was  not  applied  to  these 
objects  till  1772,  so  many  were  made  that  by  1777  there 
were  441  subjects,  many  of  them  made  from  moulds  sup- 
plied by  Tassie,  or  taken  from  gems  lent  to  Wedgwood,  or 
from  moulds  made  by  Flaxman.  From  1779  to  1795  was 
the  best  period  of  the  cameos.  After  1787  every  difficulty 

57 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

in  regard  to  the  making  of  the  cameos  had  been  surmounted, 
and  not  only  were  the  most  minute  and  exquisite  figures, 
groups,  heads  and  portraits  successfully  produced,  but  the 
smallest  and  most  beautiful  borders,  like  some  of  those  on 
the  cameos  shown  in  Figure  17,  applied. 

There  is  great  difficulty  now  in  "  naming "  the  various 
cameos,  which  might  have  been  averted  as  far  as  those  which 
are  catalogued  go,  if  the  catalogue  number  had  been  put  on 
them.  Some  of  them  bear  the  name  of  the  subject,  many 
were  made  after  the  last  issue  of  the  catalogue,  and  those 
that  were  sold  in  sets  are  now  in  most  cases  separated. 
Some  examples  are  shown  in  Figure  18. 

The  subjects  embraced  in  the  cameos  were,  "  Egyptian 
Mythology,"  "  Greek  and  Roman  Mythology,"  "  Sacri- 
fices," "  Ancient  Philosophers,  Poets  and  Orators,"  "  Sov- 
ereigns of  Macedonia,"  "  Fabulous  Age  of  the  Greeks," 
"  War  of  Troy,"  "  Roman  History,"  "  Masks,  Chimaeras, 
etc.,"  "  Illustrious  Moderns,"  and  "  Miscellaneous." 

The  jasper  vases,  classic  in  shape,  enriched  with  patterns 
and  designs  of  greatest  perfection,  are  the  aim  of  every  col- 
lector of  "  Old  Wedgwood."  In  none  of  Wedgwood's 
products  is  attention  to  detail  so  carefully  observed,  every 
slightest  part  of  the  decoration  being  admirable,  both  in 
design  and  workmanship.  In  writing  to  Sir  William  Ham- 
ilton, long  a  friend  and  patron,  Wedgwood  says  in  1786, 
in  reference  to  the  vases,  "  every  ornament  and  leaf  being 
first  made  in  a  separate  mould,  then  laid  upon  the  vase  with 
great  care  and  accuracy,  and  afterwards  wrought  over  again 
upon  the  vase  itself  by  an  artist  equal  to  the  work,  for  from 
the  beginning  I  determined  to  spare  neither  time  nor  ex- 
pense in  modelling  and  finishing  my  ornaments." 

The  vase  shown  in  the  Frontispiece  was  made  by  Wedg- 
wood in  1786  for  the  British  Museum,  where  it  now  is. 

58 


FIG.    21.      MARRIAGE    OF    CUPID    AND    PSYCHE. 


FIG.    2a.     GARDEN    OF    THE   HESPERIDES. 


FIG.    23.      CHOICE  OF   HERCULES. 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

Wedgwood  in  writing  to  Sir  William  Hamilton  about  it, 
calls  it,  "  The  finest  and  most  perfect  I  have  ever  made."  It 
is  eighteen  inches  high,  with  Flaxman's  design  of  the 
"Apotheosis  of  Homer"  and  with  a  figure  of  Pegasus  on 
the  top  of  the  cover. 

When  these  vases  were  made  the  price  was  twenty 
guineas.  Not  one  of  such  quality  was  offered  at  the  Wills 
sale,  and  they  seldom  come  into  the  market,  being  snapped 
up  immediately  at  private  sale.  In  1877  at  tne  sa^e  °f  tne 
collection  of  Doctor  Sibson  in  England,  one  of  these  Hom- 
eric vases  in  black  and  white  jasper  brought  700  guineas. 
Only  three  of  them  in  black  and  white  are  known,  and  as 
it  happens  all  three  are  owned  in  Scotland,  one  collector, 
Lord  Tweedmouth,  having  two  of  them. 

Figure  19  shows  a  vase,  Grecian  in  shape  and  in  black 
and  white  jasper,  which  is  a  great  favourite  with  collectors. 
The  beautiful  wreath  about  the  neck,  and  the  husk  pattern 
which  adorns  the  body  are  made  with  exquisite  exactness. 
This  black  and  white  jasper  is  always  elegant  no  matter 
what  object  is  made  in  it,  and  what  a  wealth  of  ornamen- 
tation was  lavished  on  some  of  the  tea-services  is  shown  in 
Figure  20,  where  the  festoons  and  masks  are  so  closely  set 
as  to  leave  exposed  only  small  portions  of  the  field. 

It  is  difficult  to  speak  with  sufficient  restraint  of  such 
works  of  beauty  as  the  three  following  tablets,  Figures  21, 
22,  23.  The  first  one,  "The  Marriage  of  Cupid  and 
Psyche,"  was  taken  from  an  antique  gem  belonging  to  the 
Duke  of  Marlborough,  and  the  first  model  was  made  by 
Tassie.  In  1787  it  was  re-modelled  by  Lochee,  who  was  at 
Blenheim  for  that  purpose.  This  lovely  group  was  made  in 
sizes  from  one  small  enough  for  a  lady's  ring,  to  one  large 
enough  to  set  in  a  chimney-piece,  or  in  furniture.  The 
large  ones  were  nj  by  16  inches,  and  they  were  made  in 

59 


WEDGWOOD    AND     HIS     IMITATORS 

biscuit  and  uncoloured  jasper,  but  are  most  lovely  in  jasper 
with  a  coloured  ground. 

Early  tablets  were  pressed  complete  from  plaster-of-Paris 
moulds,  carefully  re-touched  with  modelling  tools.  Some- 
times these  had  a  frame  of  the  material  which  was  stamped 
from  the  same  mould  with  the  tablet,  but  as  these  frames 
gave  a  clumsy  look  to  the  tablets,  Wedgwood  discontinued 
making  them.  It  was  only  after  repeated  experiments  that 
Wedgwood  approached  perfection  in  making  the  large  tab- 
lets. The  early  ones  were  small,  6  by  9,  generally,  but  by 
1773  some  20  by  14^  inches  had  been  satisfactorily  made. 
By  1779  panels  30  inches  long  had  been  produced,  and 
finally  some  were  made  36  by  24.  These  tablets  were  fired 
twice,  one  whole  week  being  taken  for  each  firing,  and  in 
drying  and  firing  the  shrinkage  was  about  one-eighth  of  an 
inch. 

The  sizes  set  down  in  the  catalogue  are  not  always  exact 
with  the  specimens,  sometimes  varying  almost  half  an  inch; 
in  the  busts  and  figures  the  variation  is  greater.  These 
large  pieces,  particularly  the  panels,  were  never  cheap;  they 
took  too  much  time  and  labour  to  allow  that,  and  in  1779 
"The  Marriage  of  Cupid  and  Psyche,"  with  a  dark  blue 
ground,  10  inches  long,  was  sold  wholesale,  for  £5  5S»  In 
1787  tablets  the  same  size  as  the  one  in  Figure  21  were 
invoiced  at  £12  I2s.  each.  At  the  Wills  sale,  a  fire-cracked 
copy,  10  by  7,  in  blue  and  white,  sold  for  $50.  In  1884  at 
Christie's  a  large-sized  perfect  tablet  of  "  The  Marriage  " 
brought  £415.  At  these  same  rooms  on  March  13,  1903, 
were  sold  a  pair  of  oblong  panels,  decoration  not  specified, 
size  5  by  12^,  for  £102  IDS.  At  the  same  time  and  place 
a  collection  of  small  medallions  brought  £35  145.,  and  a 
poor  copy  of  the  Barberini  vase  sold  for  £126. 

"  Hercules  in  the  Garden  of  the  Hesperides,"  Figure  22, 

60 


FIG.    25.     BARBERINI    VASE.  FIG.    26.     ROSSO-ANIICO. 


FIG.    24.     APOTHEOSIS   OP   VIRGIL. 


FIG.    27.     CANE-COLOURED    WARE. 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

was  modelled  by  Flaxman  in  1787,  from  an  Etruscan  vase 
now  in  the  British  Museum,  but  formerly  in  the  possession 
of  Sir  William  Hamilton.  The  panel  is  5^  by  17,  and  the 
exquisite  beauty  of  the  figures  needs  no  words  to  extol  them. 
They  were  first  used  as  a  tablet,  but  subsequently  adapted 
to  vases.  In  Flaxman's  bill  to  Wedgwood  for  the  year 
1787,  the  bas-relief  for  these  figures  is  mentioned  particu- 
larly, and  Flaxman's  charge  for  it  was  £23. 

"  The  Judgment  of  Hercules  "  in  the  lower  panel  was 
made  in  many  sizes,  and  as  it  says  in  the  catalogue,  "  was 
modelled  agreeably  to  Lord  Shaftesbury's  idea  of  represent- 
ing this  subject."  It  appears  in  all  editions  of  the  catalogue, 
so  was  modelled  before  1773.  This  "Judgment  of  Her- 
cules," in  size  6  by  18  inches,  occasionally  appears  upon  a 
pink  ground.  Mr.  Arthur  Sanderson  of  Edinburgh,  Scot- 
land, has  one  showing  the  three  central  figures  only.  Panels 
with  this  colouring  are  extremely  rare,  and  in  all  England 
but  one  medallion  made  in  it  could  be  found  to  exhibit  at 
a  loan  exhibition  of  "  Old  Wedgwood  "  held  at  Liverpool 
a  short  time  since. 

The  circular  panel,  "  Apotheosis  of  Virgil,'*  Figure  24, 
modelled  by  Flaxman,  appears  only  in  the  last  edition  of  the 
catalogue,  1787,  although  it  was  made  originally  for  a 
mantel-piece  at  Longton  Hall,  and  was  referred  to  as  early 
as  1777. 

The  Barberini  vase  is  commonly  spoken  of  as  the  most 
famous  of  all  of  Wedgwood's  productions,  see  Figure  25. 
The  celebrated  original,  exhumed  in  1623  when  Maffeo 
Barberini,  as  Urban  VIII  sat  in  the  Papal  chair,  is  called 
after  him.  In  1784  Sir  William  Hamilton  brought  it  to 
England  and  sold  it  to  the  Duchess  of  Portland.  Shortly 
after,  in  1785,  on  the  death  of  the  Duchess  it  was  sold  among 
her  effects,  and  bought  in  by  her  son,  who  found  a  spirited 

61 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

competitor  in  Wedgwood.  The  Duke  lent  the  vase  to 
Wedgwood  (he  paid  £1029  for  it),  and  the  latter  with  his 
most  able  assistants  was  four  years  in  making  the  moulds 
and  perfecting  the  colour. 

The  difficulty  of  reproducing  in  jasper  a  vase  which  was 
formed  of  glass  seemed  at  first  almost  insuperable.  But 
constant  experiments  at  last  brought  success,  and  the  won- 
derful blue-black  of  the  body,  which  was  due  to  the  careful 
work  of  Josiah  Wedgwood  the  younger,  was  a  fit  back- 
ground for  the  fine  bas-reliefs  which  went  on  it,  and  which 
were  modelled  by  Henry  Webber,  William  Wood  and 
William  Hackwood.  The  original  had  been  buried  so  long, 
the  sarcophagus  in  which  it  was  found  was  dedicated  to  the 
ashes  of  the  Emperor  Alexander  Severus  and  his  mother, 
who  perished  during  a  revolt  in  Gaul,  A.  D.  235,  that  some 
of  the  reliefs  were  damaged  by  time.  These  were  restored 
in  the  moulds,  but  otherwise,  as  to  size,  10  inches  high  by 
7  inches  in  the  largest  part,  colour,  polish,  etc.,  the  vase  was 
copied  exactly. 

It  is  stated  that  fifty  copies  were  made  by  Wedgwood 
himself,  but  it  seems  to  be  a  fact  that  only  about  twenty 
were  made  in  his  time,  and  not  more  than  fifty  during  the 
period  between  1789-1810.  The  highest  price  which  has 
been  paid  so  far  for  one  of  these  proof  copies  was  given 
for  the  vase  which  belonged  to  Mr.  J.  L.  Propert  and  which 
was  sold  at  auction  in  1902  at  Christie's.  Mrs.  Spranger 
paid  £399  for  it,  and  besides  being  of  the  greatest  perfec- 
tion, the  ground  is  more  slate-coloured  than  blue,  and  has 
quite  a  gloss. 

Copies  of  this  vase  are  made  to-day  by  the  Wedgwood 
firm,  and  many  potters  in  many  countries  have  pirated  it. 
An  inferior  copy  was  disposed  of  among  the  Wills  collec- 
tion, and  even  with  its  defects,  brought  $550. 

62 


BAS-RELIEFS  AND   TABLETS 

A  PARTIAL  list  of  the  subjects  used  in  medallions 
and   bas-reliefs   follows,   with,   when   possible,    the 
name  of  the  artist  or  the  source  from  whence  it 
was  derived.     These  scenes  are  also  found  on  the 
vases,  and  in  many  cases  the  figures  are  differently  grouped, 
or  as  in  the  case  of  small  medallions  used  separately.   While 
those  subjects  taken  from  the  antique  never  came  up  to  the 
beauty  and  finish  of  the  original,  those  modelled  by  Flaxman 
are  extremely  beautiful,  and  many  have  the  merit  of  origi- 
nality.    The  charming  series  from  Mrs.  Landre,  the  "  Do- 
mestic Employments,"  by  Miss  Crewe,  and  the  children  and 
cupidons  by  Lady  Templetown    (so  spelled  in  the  British 
Museum  Catalogue),  are  all  delightful. 

Birth  of  Bacchus. 

[War  of  Jupiter  and  the  Titans. 

Destruction  af  Niobe's  Children. 

Marriage  supper  of  Perseus  and  Andromeda. 

Jupiter   and   Ganymedes. 

Apollo  and  Marsyas.     Mrs.   Landre. 

Apollo  and  Daphne. 

Apollo  and  Python. 

Judgment  of  Midas. 

Bacchanalian  boys  at  play. 

Silenus  and  boys. 

Bacchus  and  panther. 

Hercules  and  Omphale. 

63 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

Cupid  shaping  his  bow,  from  painting  by  Correggio. 

Sacrifice  to  ^sculapius. 

The  Graces,  by  Burch. 

The  Marriage  of  Cupid  and  Psyche,  modelled  by  Tas- 

sie  and  later  by  Lochee. 
The  Judgment  of  Paris. 
Cassandra.     Bacon. 

Diomedes  carrying  away  the  palladium.     Bacon. 
Farnesian  Hercules. 

Althea,  mother  of  Meleager,  burning  the  firebrand. 
Somus,  or  Cupid  reposing,  T.  Parker,  1769. 
Judgment  of  Hercules,  after  Lord  Shaftesbury's  idea. 
Death  of  a  Roman  warrior. 
Hercules  and  Theseus  supporting  the  world. 
Night. 

Day.     These  were  made  in  2O-inch  and  in  7-inch  sizes. 
Meleager  and  Atalanta  killing  the  Calydonian  boar. 
The  Arts. 
Fire;  Air;  Earth  and  Water,  from  casts  by  Grant  and 

Hoskins. 

Head  of  Medusa,  from  a  marble,  by  Flaxman,  1776. 
Jupiter,  Flaxman,  1775. 
Juno;  Apollo;  A  Muse,  Flaxman,   1775. 
Contemplative  Muse,  Flaxman,  1775. 
Hercules  strangling  the  lion,  Flaxman,   1775. 
Hercules  binding  Cerberus,  Flaxman,   1775. 
Meleager;    Justice;    Minerva;     Hope;     Melpomene; 

Comedy,  all  by  Flaxman,  1775. 
Dancing  Nymph;  Head  of  Bacchus;  Head  of  Ariadne, 

Flaxman,    1775. 
Spring;  Summer;  Autumn;  Winter,  all  by  Flaxman, 

heads,  1775. 
Isis;  Ariadne;  Bacchus  and  Pan,  heads,  Flaxman,  1776. 

64 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

Syrinx,  a  head.  This  and  "  Pan  "  come  in  white  jasper 
and  are  specially  referred  to  by  Wedgwood.  Mod- 
elled by  Flaxman,  1776. 

Perseus  and  Andromeda,  Flaxman. 

jEsculapius ;  Hygiea;  Artemisia;  A  vestal,  Flaxman. 

Fauns  sacrificing,  Flaxman. 

Cupid  on  a  lion;  Indian  Bacchus;  Roman  Matron; 
Sophonisba,  Flaxman,  1776. 

Hercules;  A  piping  Faun,  Flaxman,  1776. 

Abundantia,   Flaxman. 

Medea  rejuvenating  Jason's  father,  Flaxman. 

Bacchanalian  Triumph,  Flaxman. 

Male  figure  with  greyhound,  Flaxman. 

Hebe  and  eagle,  Flaxman. 

Juno;  Euterpe;  Fame,  Flaxman. 

Head  of  Flora,  Flaxman. 

Sleeping  Venus,  Flaxman. 

Diomedes  carrying  off  the  palladium,  Flaxman. 

Triumph  of  Ariadne,  Flaxman. 

Winged    Cupid   with   swan,   Flaxman. 

Ditto,  flying  away  with  the  swan,  Flaxman. 

Judgment  of  Paris,  Flaxman. 

Triumph  of  Silenus,  Flaxman. 

Sacrifice  to  Hymen,  Flaxman. 

Apotheosis  of   Homer,  Flaxman. 

The  Nine  Muses,  Flaxman. 

The  Muses  with  Apollo,  Flaxman. 

The  Dancing  Hours,  Flaxman,   1776. 

The  Nine  Muses  and  Apollo  in  separate  pieces,  Flax- 
man. 

Tragedy,  Comedy  and  Apollo,  Flaxman. 

The  Four  Seasons  in  separate  pieces,  Flaxman. 

Blindman's  Buff,  Flaxman,  1782. 

65 


WEDGWOOD    AND     HIS    IMITATORS 

Commercial  Treaty  with   France,   Flaxman,    1787. 

Coriolanus  with  his  wife  and  mother  persuading  him 
to  return  to  Rome,  Flaxman. 

Apotheosis  of  Virgil,  Flaxman. 

Diana  visiting  Endymion,  from  the  Capitol  at  Rome, 
Flaxman. 

Hercules  in  the  Garden  of  the  Hesperides,  modelled 
from  a  vase,  Flaxman. 

An  offering  to  Ceres,  Flaxman. 

Agamemnon,  Achilles  and  Briesis,  Flaxman. 

Birth  of  Bacchus,  Hackwood. 

Indian  Bacchus,  Hackwood,  1776. 

Triumph  of  Bacchus,  Hackwood. 

Teletes  and  Socrates,  a  masque,  Hackwood. 

Bacchanalian  Figure  from  an  antique  vase,  Mrs. 
Landre.  There  were  five  of  these  figures  all  mod- 
elled in  the  same  year,  1769. 

A  Philosopher  reading  on  the  immortality  of  the  soul, 
Landre. 

Dead  Jesus  with  Virgin  and  boys,  Landre. 

Cupid  inflaming  the  mind,  and  Cupid  and  Hymen, 
were  from  casts  by  Grant  and  Hoskins,  1774. 

Andromache,  Bacon,  1777. 

An  offering  to  Flora,  Bacon,  1778. 

An  offering  to  Peace,  Lady  Templetown,  1777. 

Domestic  Employment,  Lady  Templetown. 

Family  School,  Lady  Templetown. 

Study,  and  its  companion,  Lady  Templetown. 

Maria,  and  the  Bourbonnais  shepherd,  Lady  Temple- 
town. 

Genii,  by  Lady  Templetown. 

Companion  to  the  latter,  Lady  Templetown. 

Sportive  Love,  Lady  Templetown. 
66 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

Charlotte  at   the  Tomb   of  Werther,   Lady  Temple- 
town. 

Contemplation,  and  its  companion,  Lady  Templetown. 

A  Triumph  of  Mars,  Webber. 

A  boy  leaning  on  his  quiver,  with  doves,  Webber. 

Hebe;  its  companion,  Webber. 

Peace,  Labour  and  Plenty,  Webber. 

Masque  of  Alexander,  Webber. 

Triumph  of  Mars,  Webber. 

Nymphs  decorating  the  statue  of  Priapus,  Webber. 

Sacrifice  to  Hymen,  Webber. 

Sacrifice  to  Concordia,  Webber. 

The  Graces  erecting  the  statue  of  Cupid,  Webber. 

Domestic  Employment,  by  Miss  Crewe. 

The  Sewing  Lesson,  Miss  Crewe. 

Venus  in  her  car,  from  design  by  Le  Brun. 

Group  of  boys,  by  Lady  Beauclerk. 

Infant  Academy,  from  painting  by  Reynolds. 

Proserpine,  by  Davaere. 

Discovery  of  Achilles,  Davaere. 

Orestes  and  Pylades  prisoners  on  the  shore  of  Scythica, 
Davaere. 

Achilles  and  the  daughters  of  Lycomedes,  Davaere. 

The  Muses  with  reclining  figures,  Pacetti. 

Priam  kneeling  to  Achilles  and  asking  for  the  body  of 
Hector,  Pacetti. 

The  fable  of  Prometheus,  Pacetti. 

The  triform  goddess  Luna,  Diana,  and  Hecate,  Pacetti. 

The  simulacrum  of  Hygiea,  Pacetti. 

A  Faun  with  three  Bacchantes,  Pacetti. 

Endymion  sleeping  on  the  rock  Latmos. 

Marcus  Aurelius  making  his  son  Commodus,   Caesar, 
Pacetti. 

67 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

Apotheosis  of  Faustina,  Pacetti. 

The  Nine  Muses,  Pacetti. 

Thetis  in  childbed  with  Achilles,  Pacetti. 

The  Triumph  of  Achilles  over  Hector,  Pacetti. 

Apollo  and  the  muse  Erato,  Angelini. 

Pluto  carrying  off  Proserpine,  Angelini. 

The  fable  of  Meleager,  Angelini. 

Apotheosis  of  a  young  prince,  Angelini. 

Two  Fauns,  Angelini. 

Two  Bacchantes,  Angelini. 

Silenus,  Angelini. 

Pleasures  of  the  Elysian  Fields,  Angelini. 

The   Nereides,   Dalmazzoni. 

Roman  procession,  Dalmazzoni. 

The  Vitruvian  Scroll,  Westmacott,   1785. 

Birth  of  Bacchus,  from  seal  of  Michael  Angelo. 

Hero  and  Leander. 

The  frightened  horse,  from  painting  by  Stubbs. 

The  fall  of  Phaethon,  Stubbs. 

Cupid  sharpening  arrows  and  stringing  bow,  two  me- 

dallions from  painting  by  Correggio.    See  cover  and 

title  page. 
Thetis    presenting   Achilles   to   the   Centaur,    Pacetti, 


, 

Sacrifice  of  Iphigenia,  Pacetti,  1790. 

Achilles  and  Chiron. 

The  Muses  watering  Pegasus  in  Helicon,  Flaxman. 

Battle  of  the  Giants,  medallions  for  mantels. 

Dancing  Nymphs,  from  Herculaneum  paintings,  six  of 

these. 

Centaur  teaching  Achilles  Music. 
Feast  of  the  gods. 
Death  of  Niobe's  children. 
68 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

Papirius  and  his  Mother. 

Marriage  supper  of  Perseus. 

Marsyas  and  the  young  Olympus. 

Night  shedding  poppies. 

Neptune  drawn  by  sea  horses. 

Sacrificial  Altar  with  Bacchic  Symbols. 

Bacchus  with  Urn  and  grapes,  Hackwood,  1780. 

The  Elder  Sister,  Lady  Templetown,  1780. 

Cupid  with  wreath,  Flaxman,  1787. 

War  of  Jupiter  and  the  Titans.     1773. 

Cupid's  Triumph,  Lady  Templetown. 

Cupid  frightening  his  companions  with  a  mask,  Lady 

Templetown. 
Cupid  playing  with  Helmet,  Bird  and  Hourglass,  Lady 

Templetown. 
Infantile  Games.  These  last  four  subjects  were  a  series 

much  used  by  Wedgwood,  and  often  pirated. 
Nymph  with  flowers,  Lady  Templetown,  1778. 
Hope  with  anchor,  Flaxman,  1777. 
Marsyas  teaching  his  disciple  Olympus. 
Diomedes  gazing  at  the  Palladium,  Bacon,  1777. 
Cupid  in  the  balance,  Flaxman. 
Hymettus  watering  Pegasus,  Pacetti. 
Achilles  dragging  Hector's  body  round  walls  of  Troy, 

Pacetti. 

Signs  of  the  Zodiac,  Hackwood. 
Bacchanalian    Triumph,   with    Bacchus,    Ariadne,    Si- 

lenus  and  attendants,  Flaxman. 

In  the  last  edition  of  the  catalogue  275  subjects  were 
given  as  being  used  on  tablets  and  medallions,  many  sub- 
jects were  not  catalogued,  and  Flaxman  made  many  groups 
of  children  which  were  not  named. 

69 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

It  is  practically  impossible  now  to  identify  many  of  the 
intaglios  and  cameos.  Mr.  C.  T.  Gatty,  to  whom  was  in- 
trusted the  task  of  getting  up  a  catalogue  for  a  "  Loan  Col- 
lection of  Wedgwood  for  the  Liverpool  Art  Club,"  found 
great  difficulty  in  ascertaining  what  the  various  cameos  and 
intaglios  were.  Besides  the  catalogues  he  had  the  assistance 
of  the  old  moulds  at  Etruria,  and  on  600  of  these  the  names 
were  scratched.  It  must  be  remembered  that  the  list  of 
subjects  covered  many  hundreds  of  subjects. 

Under  the  head  of  "  Illustrious  Moderns  "  are  grouped 
the  most  interesting  of  Wedgwood's  portrait  productions. 
They  come  in  various  sizes  and  in  basaltes  and  blue  and 
white  jasper.  Many  of  them  are  of  an  exceedingly  high 
order  of  workmanship.  Occasionally  some  of  the  early  me- 
dallions of  "  Illustrious  Moderns "  will  be  found  in  a 
creamy,  or  in  a  dead  white  terra-cotta,  but  these  were  made 
before  the  perfection  of  the  jasper  body.  Some  of  these 
portraits  cannot  now  be  recognised,  and  there  are  some 
which  are  not  recorded  in  the  catalogues. 

Lists  of  them  are  given,  however,  to  aid  in  identification. 

The  portrait  busts  in  basaltes  are  usually  marked  with  the 
name  of  the  subject  on  the  back  of  the  bust.  As  there  were 
many  made  by  others  than  Wedgwood,  lists  of  his  are  given, 
together  with  the  sizes  in  which  they  are  found.  These 
often  vary  some  fractions  of  an  inch. 


70 


LIST  OF  "ILLUSTRIOUS  MODERNS" 

In  black  basal tes  and  blue  and  white  jasper. 
PRINCES 


AMURAT  I. 

ANTONIUS,  KING  OF  NA- 
VARRE. 

HENRY  IV.  OF  FRANCE. 

Louis  XIV. 

Louis  XV. 

Louis  XVI. 

QUEEN  OF  FRANCE. 

Louis  BOURBON,  PRINCE 
OF  CONDE. 

KING  OF  SPAIN. 

Pius  VI. 

PRINCE  LAMBERTINI. 

CHRISTIANA,  QUEEN  OF 
SWEDEN. 

CHARLES  XII.  OF  SWEDEN. 

GUSTAVUS,  KING  OF  SWE- 
DEN. 

PETER  THE  GREAT  OF  RUS- 
SIA, 

PETER  ALEXIS,  SON  OF 
PETER  THE  GREAT, 

EMPRESS  OF  RUSSIA. 

PRINCE  OF  RUSSIA. 


DUKE  OF  COURLAND. 

JOSEPH   II.  OF  GERMANY, 
two  models. 

JOHN    SOBIESKI,    KING   OF 
POLAND. 

AUGUSTUS    II.,    KING    OF 

POLAND, 

FREDERICK  THE  GREAT  OF 
PRUSSIA. 

FREDERICK    WILLIAM    III. 
OF  PRUSSIA, 

PRINCE  OF  LIGNES. 

PRINCE   OF   BRUNSWICK. 

WILLIAM  I.  OF  THE  NETH- 
ERLANDS. 

QUEEN  OF  THE  NETHER- 
LANDS. 

WlLHELM,    FIRST    PRINCE 
OF  ORANGE. 

LOUISE  DE  COLIGNY,  PRIN- 
CESS OF  ORANGE. 

WILHELM  -FREDERICK, 
HEREDITARY    PRINCE   OF 

ORANGE. 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 


QUEEN  ELIZBETH. 

PRINCESS  FRED.  WILHEL- 
MINA  LOUISA  OF  OR- 
ANGE. 

HENRY  IV. 

CHARLES  I. 

OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

CHARLES  II. 

WILLIAM  III. 

GEORGE  I. 

GEORGE  II. 

PRINCE  OF  WALES. 


PRINCESS  DOWAGER  OP 
WALES. 

GEORGE  III. 

QUEEN  CHARLOTTE. 

PRINCE  OF  WALES,  AFTER- 
WARDS GEORGE  IV. 

DUKE  OF  YORK. 

PRINCE   WILLIAM   HENRY. 

PRINCE  ERNEST  AUGUSTUS. 

PRINCE  AUGUSTUS  FRED- 
ERICK. 

PRINCE  ADOLPHUS  FRED- 
ERICK. 


STATESMEN   AND   COMMANDERS 


DUKE  DE  SULLY. 
COLBERT. 

CARDINAL  FLEURY. 
CARDINAL  MAZARIN. 
CARDINAL  NOAILLES. 
DUKE  DE  BOUILLON. 
M.  DE  SARTINE. 
MONTESQUIEU. 
MARSHAL  TURENNE. 
MARSHAL  SAKE. 
TEMMINCK,  LORD  BURGO- 
MASTER. 

CORNELIUS  DE  WITT. 
JOHN  DE  WITT. 
MICHAEL  RUYTER. 
BARNEVELDT. 
PETER  HEIN. 
ROMBOUT  HOGERBOOTS. 


EGBERT  KORTENAAR. 

BARON  REDEN. 

DUKE  OF  BEDFORD,  RE- 
GENT OF  FRANCE. 

ALGERNON  SYDNEY. 

SIR  ROBERT  WALPOLE. 

JOHN,  DUKE  OF  MARL- 
BOROUGH. 

LORD  KEPPEL. 

LORD  HOOD. 

LORD  HOWE. 

LORD  NELSON. 

LORD  DUNCAN. 

EARL  ST.  VINCENT. 

LORD  AM  H  ERST. 

GENERAL  ELLIOT. 

GENERAL  MONKTON. 

GENERAL  WASHINGTON. 


72 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 


GOVERNOR  FRANKLIN. 
DUKE    OF    NORTHUMBER- 
LAND. 

DUKE  OF  MONTAGUE. 
MARQUIS  OF  STAFFORD. 
MARQUIS  OF  ROCKINGHAM. 
EARL  OF  SHANNON. 
EARL  COWPER. 
EARL  OF  CHATHAM. 
EARL  OF  CHESTERFIELD. 
EARL  OF  SANDWICH. 
LORD  HILLSBOROUGH. 


LORD  MANSFIELD. 
LORD  NORTH. 
LORD  HAWKESBURY. 
BISHOP  OF  ST.  ASAPH. 
SIR  JOHN  PHILLIPS. 
SIR  WILLIAM  DOLBEN. 
RIGHT     HON.      WILLIAM 

PITT. 

HON.  WARREN  HASTINGS, 
MR.  MONTAGUE. 
ENDYMION  PORTER. 
ANDREW  FOUNTAINS. 


PHILOSOPHERS  AND   NATURALISTS 


FRANCIS   VERULAM,   LORD 

BACON. 
GALILEO. 
GASSENDI. 
DESCARTES. 
SIR  ISAAC  NEWTON. 
DR.  FRANKLIN    (The  first 

head     of     Franklin     was 

modelled  in  1777.) 
BERGMAN. 
DR.  PRIESTLEY. 
SIR  WILLIAM  HAMILTON. 
DE  LA  CONDAMINE. 
DE  MOIVRE. 
D'ALEMBERT. 
DIDEROT. 

BURLAMAQUI. 

73 


FONTENELLE. 

LOCKE. 
MAGLIABECCI. 
RAY. 

KAEMPFER. 
LINNAEUS. 
SIR  HANS  SLOANE, 
SIR  JOSEPH  BANKS. 
DR.  SOLANDER. 
DR.  FOSTER. 
CAPTAIN  COOK. 
MR.  PENNANT. 
MR.  EDWARDS. 
MR.   BLAKE,   late  of   Can- 
ton, China. 
MR.  MORE. 
SIR  ASHTON  LEVER. 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 
PHYSICIANS 

BOERHAAVE.  DR.    WOODWARD. 

HALLER,  DR.  PEMBERTON. 

VAN  SWIETEN.  DR.  FOTHERGILL. 

DR.  FRIEND.  DR.  JAMES  FORDYCE. 

DR.  MEAD,  DR.  BUCHAN. 

ENGLISH    POETS 

GEOFFREY  CHAUCER.  OLDHAM. 

JOHN  GOWER,  OTWAY. 

SIR  PHILIP  SIDNEY.  WALLER. 

SPENSER.  EARL  OF  SURREY. 

BEAUMONT.  DRYDEN. 
SHAKESPEARE,  several  mod-     ADDISON. 

els.  CONGREVE, 

FLETCHER.  PRIOR. 

JONSON.  LANSDOWNE. 

COWLEY.  POPE. 

MILTON.  SWIFT. 

BUTLER.  GARRICK,  several  models. 

ROCHESTER.  MILTON,  two  models. 

FRENCH  POETS 

MOLIERE.  CORNEILLE. 

BOILEAU.  RACINE. 

CREBILLON.  VOLTAIRE. 

FONTAINE. 

PAINTERS 

LEONARDO  DA  VINCI.  TITIAN. 

MICHAEL  ANGELO.  RAFAELLE  D'  URBINO. 

74 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

GIULIO  ROMANO.  CARLO  MARRATTI. 

CORREGGIO.  SIR  JOSHUA  REYNOLDS. 

ANNIBALE  CARRACCI.  MR.  WEST. 

LE  SUEUR.  MR.  BYRES. 
FRANCESCO  ALBANO. 

ARCHITECTS 

SIR  CHRISTOPHER  WREN.       SIR   WILLIAM   CHAMBERS. 
INIGO  JONES.  MR.  WYATT. 

ANTIQUARIES 

MARQUIS  MAFFEI,  MR.  STUART. 

DR.  STUKELEY. 

DIVINES   AND  MORAL  WRITERS 

MELANCTHON.  ST.  EVREMOND. 

ERASMUS.  FENELON,   ARCHBISHOP   OF 

GROTIUS.  CAMBRAI. 

CONYERS  MlDDLETON.  GONZALEZ. 

ROUSSEAU.  DR.  JOHNSON,  two  models. 

MONTAIGNE.  JONAS  HANWAY, 

LADIES 

MARCHIONESS  POMPADOUR.  MADAME  CLAIRON. 

MARCHIONESS  DU   CHATE-  MADAME  DE  SCUDERI. 

LET.  MADAME  D'ESTREES. 

MARCHIONESS  DE  SAVIGNY.  MADAME   DBS    HOULIERES. 

COUNTESS  GRIGNAN.  MADAME   DE   MONTESPAN. 

COUNTESS  DE  LA  SAGE.  MADAME  DU  BOCAGE. 

COUNTESS  BARRE.  AGNES  SOREL. 

MADAME  DACIER.  NINON  L'ENCLOS. 

75 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 


LAURA. 

DUCHESS  OF  DEVONSHIRE. 

LADY  BANKS. 

LADY   CHARLOTTE   FINCH. 


MRS.  MONTAGUE. 
MRS.  BARBAULD. 
MRS.  KENNICOTT. 
MRS.  SIDDONS. 


THE    FOLLOWING    SUBJECTS   WERE   ADDED 
LATER 


LEOPOLD,  EMPEROR  OF 
GERMANY. 

GEORGE,  PRINCE  OF  DEN- 
MARK. 

WILLIAM,  DUKE  OF  GLOU- 
CESTER. 

CHARLES  XI.  OF  SWEDEN. 

CHARLES  EMANUEL,  DUKE 
OF  SAVOY. 

WILLIAM  MAXMILIAN, 
DUKE  OF  BRUNSWICK, 

LADY  ORFORD. 

MRS.  HAY. 

COUNT  GYLLINGBURG. 

WILLIAM,  DUKE  OF  CUM- 
BERLAND. 

THE  QUEEN  OF  DENMARK. 

MARTIN  LUTHER. 

AVERANIUS  BENEDICT. 

MARTIN  FFOULKES. 

VANDER  MULAN. 

WILLIAM  BRIDGEMAN. 

DR.  BAKER. 

SIR  JOHN  BARNARD. 

GAY. 


ADDISON,  described  as  Bick- 

erstaff. 
THOMSON, 
Louis  FRANCIS  LE  FEVRE. 

LOUIS    DE    BOUCHERAT. 

CHRISTIA  FRANCIA,  DU- 
CHESS OF  SUABIA,  AND 

QUEEN  OF  CYPRUS. 

CARDINAL  ROCHEFOU- 
CAULD. 

TELLIER,  CHANCELLOR  OF 
FRANCE. 

ARCHBISHOP  LAUD. 

BIRAGUS  RENE. 

LORD  MOLESWORTH. 

JOHN   GORDON. 

Louis  GERVAISE. 

WILLIAM  DE  LAMOIGNON. 

LORD  CAMDEN. 

NICHOLAS  KEDER. 

JAMES  STUART. 

MARMONTEL. 

COYSEVOX. 

CHARLES   RENALD   BERCH, 

PASCAL. 


76 


ROSSO-ANTICO 

1776 

THE  ordinary  red  ware  of  the  Potteries,  like  the 
basaltes  or  black  ware,  had  been  made  from  the 
time  pot-works  had   first  been   established   there. 
It  was  a  common,  coarse  material,  not  susceptible 
of  being  made  into  fine  articles  until  the  coming  of  the  Elers 
Brothers  about  the  beginning  of  the  XVIII  century,  and  they 
transformed  it  into  a  thing  of  beauty. 

The  Rosso-antico  made  by  Wedgwood  was  made  from  the 
same  clay  that  had  been  used  by  the  Elers,  and  he  glazed 
the  insides  of  his  vessels.  It  never  was  one  of  his  great 
successes,  and  his  first  treatment  of  it  was  to  ornament  it 
with  black  figures.  After  much  experimenting  he  reversed 
this  order,  putting  the  red  figures  on  a  black  ground.  He 
produced  many  small  and  beautiful  objects  like  the  lamp 
shown  in  Figure  26. 

Nothing  was  too  small  or  simple  for  Wedgwood  to  slur 
in  its  treatment,  and  on  the  piece  shown  is  put  one  of  Flax- 
man's  masterpieces,  "The  Muses  Watering  Pegasus  in 
Helicon."  The  "  Signs  of  the  Zodiac  "  form  the  border  on 
the  rim,  the  beauty  and  clearness  of  the  figures  standing  out 
well  even  in  the  photograph. 

It  was  not  until  1790  that  the  red  figures  were  success- 
fully applied  to  black,  and  then  there  was  so  great  a  demand 
for  the  jasper,  basaltes  and  painted  vases,  that  little  attention 
was  given  to  the  Rosso-antico. 

77 


CANE-COLOURED  WARE 

1776-1779-1795 

THE  cane-coloured  ware,  like  the  bamboo,  was  one  of 
the  later  productions  of  Wedgwood's  fertile  genius. 
When  he  first  made  the  cane-coloured  material  it 
was  defective,  but  after  repeated  experiments  he 
succeeded  in  producing  a  body  which  was  entirely  satis- 
factory. 

Flower  pots,  stands,  teapots  and  vases  were  made  in  this 
material,  sometimes  decorated  in  enamel  colours,  in  which 
case  the  effect  is  more  brilliant  than  beautiful.  Then  the 
raised  decoration  was  used,  wreaths  of  grape  leaves  being 
extremely  popular;  the  colours  applied  were  brown,  green, 
slate-grey  and  black.  On  some  choice  specimens  white  fig- 
ures are  used,  the  same  patterns  of  flowers,  figures,  cupids, 
etc.,  as  figured  on  the  jasper  ware. 

In  the  vase  and  basket  given  in  Figure  27  the  decoration 
is  black  and  most  effective,  particularly  in  the  case  of  the 
vase  with  its  fluted  top  and  base. 


LUSTRE 

1776 

PEARL  WARE 

1779 

THE  first  lustre  produced  by  Wedgwood  was  made 
about  1776  from  a  receipt  given  him  by  his  friend, 
Dr.  Fothergill.     This  was  for  the  application  of 
copper  or  "  gold  bronze  "  to  a  dark  body,  and  was 
intended    primarily    only   for   frames.     Wedgwood    appre- 
ciated the  value  of  the  "  discovery  "  and  set  about  applying 
it  to  other  objects. 

Much  care  had  been  given  by  Wedgwood  to  the  shapes 
of  candlesticks.  Figures,  both  male  and  female,  had  been 
modelled  for  this  purpose,  mythology  being  heavily  drawn 
upon,  so  that  there  were  sea-nymphs,  naiads,  bacchantes, 
chimaerae  and  tritons.  Many  hands  had  worked  on  these 
models,  the  tritons  being  the  most  successful.  Boot  had 
worked  on  these  first,  but  they  had  been  improved  by 
Bacon.  Wedgwood  chose  these  for  lustre,  and  a  pair  of 
them  by  Bacon  are  shown  in  Figure  28.  They  are  made  of 
red  clay  and  silvered,  or  rather  treated  with  platinum  to  give 
the  silvered  effects.  So  popular  did  this  silvered  ware  be- 
come that  it  was  applied  to  tea  sets,  ewers  for  water  and 
cider,  trays,  candlesticks,  etc.  It  was  first  used  about  1792 
and  continued  till  1810  or  a  little  later,  the  greater  part  of 
the  silvered  ware  from  these  potteries  being  made  after  the 

79 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

death  of  Josiah  Wedgwood.  This  is  particularly  true  of 
those  pieces  treated  with  "  resist  "  decorations,  that  is  where 
the  pattern  is  removed  by  a  stick  and  the  body  of  the  ware 
shows  through  the  lustre. 

During  the  year  1779,  Wedgwood  in  response  to  a  de- 
mand for  tea-services  of  a  whiter  ware  than  the  cream- 
coloured  body,  made  what  he  called  "  Pearl  ware."  Queen 
Charlotte,  always  a  good  patron,  took  one  of  the  first  of  these 
services.  The  body  was  made  with  a  larger  proportion  of 
china  clay  and  flint,  the  whiteness  being  intensified  by  the 
addition  of  a  trifle  of  cobalt.  One  use  to  which  this  pearl 
ware  was  put  was  the  making  of  shells,  a  natural  form  of 
beauty  towards  which  Wedgwood  always  had  a  great  lean- 
ing. These  shells  were  used  for  dessert  services  and  were 
coloured  exactly  to  life,  and  though  fragile,  were  very  beau- 
tiful. 

Later  on  Wedgwood  applied  lustre  to  them,  "  gold  lustre  " 
it  was  called,  and  it  was  produced  by  painting  with  a  coat 
of  purple  of  Cassius.  Where  the  tint  was  thin  the  colour 
was  a  purplish-pink,  where  it  was  thicker  it  had  gold  re- 
flections. 

Two  pieces  of  this  lustred  ware  are  shown  in  Figure  29. 
With  the  exception  of  Wedgwood,  the  gold  lustre  produced 
by  the  Staffordshire  potters  was  of  poor  quality,  and  even  at 
its  best  the  lustre  soon  dims  with  wear.  Occasionally  some 
of  the  beautiful  "  twigged  baskets  "  made  in  cream-coloured 
ware  are  found  decorated  with  the  lustre,  but  they  are  about 
as  rare  as  the  pearl  ware  specimens,  which  either  plain  or 
with  decoration  of  any  description  are  very  difficult  to  find. 

The  marks  on  Wedgwood  partake  of  the  character  of  all 
of  the  work.  They  consist  of  impressed  letters  of  varying 
sizes,  generally  extremely  clear,  and  sharply  cut.  During 
the  period  of  Bentley's  partnership,  the  names  Wedgwood 

80 


FIG.   29.     GOLD   LUSTRE   WARE. 


FIG.  30.     MORTAR  AND  PESTLE. 


FIG.  28.     LUSTRE  CANDLESTICKS. 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

and  Bentley,  sometimes  accompanied  with  the  word  "  Etru- 
ria,"  are  found  on  the  ornamentals.  The  presence  of  the 
figure  3  and  the  letter  O  denote  a  superior  quality  of  work, 
as  does  the  presence  of  scrawled  workmen's  marks.  After 
Bentley's  death  the  name  Wedgwood  was  used,  and  has 
been  continuously  ever  since  by  the  firm. 

The  rule  can  in  most  cases  be  safely  followed,  that  marked 
pieces  are  the  only  safe  ones  to  buy,  for  the  rule  of  the  pot- 
tery was,  that  no  piece  should  be  sent  out  un-marked.  A 
list  of  the  marks  is  given,  and  they  vary  from  %2  to  an  £ 
of  an  inch. 


81 


MORTARS    AND    PESTLES 
1779 

FOR  a  number  of  years,  even  prior  to  1773,  vessels 
made  by  Wedgwood  for  use  in  laboratories  had 
been  in  demand.    They  were  so  true  in  shape,  so 
admirable  in  material  that  chemists  sent  for  them 
from  all  parts  of  the  world.     When  the  question  arose  of 
making  some  body  sufficiently  hard  for  mortars,  Wedgwood 
found  that  the  material  used  for  his  chemical  vessels  had  not 
sufficient  resistance,  and  could  not  stand  a  sufficiently  hard 
firing. 

He  experimented  with  it,  and  writes,  on  May  30,  1779: 
"  To  cure  this  body  of  the  malady  of  blistering  it  should  be 
hid  under  ground  for  half  a  century.  I  am  endeavouring 
to  make  a  new  composition  without  such  freaks  as  render 
the  other  imperfect." 

How  well  he  succeeded  his  admirable  mortars  still  at- 
test. See  Figure  30.  When  the  material  was  brought  to  his 
satisfaction,  then  he  gave  his  attention  to  the  shaping  of 
these  articles,  his  theory  being  that  they  should  be  made  on 
a  particular  curve.  Nothing  but  his  own  careful  study  pro- 
duced the  proper  curve,  and  Wedgwood  added  to  his  list 
of  triumphs  when  his  mortars  stood  the  test  and  were  taken 
as  the  standard  at  Apothecaries'  Hall. 

I  know  a  small  mortar  which  has  been  in  active  use  in 
one  family  more  than  a  century,  its  early  use  being  to  grind 
salt  free  from  lumps.  It  is  still  occasionally  put  to  the  same 
use  to-day,  for  the  "  sake  of  old  times." 

82 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 


' 


Pl  H** 
J 


Wedgwood 


WEDGWOOD 

WEDGWOOD 
WEDGWOOD 

Wedgwood 

Wedgwood 
Wedgwood 


WEDGWOOD 
&BENTLEY 


0 


WEDGWOOD 

ETRURIA 

WEDGWOOD 
ETRURIA  "" 

"Wedgwood 
Etruria 


83 


WILLIAM   ADAMS   OF   GREENGATES 

ADAMS 

1745-1805 

NEXT  to  that  of  Wedgwood,  the  most  important 
name  among  English  potters  of  the  last  quarter 
of  the  XVIIIth  Century  is  that  of  Adams. 

The  Adams  family  was  a  large  and  prominent 
one.  They  had  long  been  potters,  and  had  made  many  not- 
able improvements  in  the  manufacture  of  the  wares  already 
known,  even  if  they  had  made  no  absolutely  new  ones.  By 
far  the  most  important  member  of  this  interesting  family 
was  William  Adams  of  Greengates,  who  was  one  of  Wedg- 
wood's closest  friends,  and  worked  for  him  as  pupil  and 
associate. 

The  Brick  House  Works  at  Burslem,  which  were  leased 
by  Wedgwood  for  a  number  of  years  before  he  moved  to 
Etruria,  belonged  to  another  William  Adams,  cousin  of  the 
one  of  Greengates  who  became  the  pupil  of  Wedgwood,  and 
whose  work  we  are  studying.  It  was  in  these  very  works 
that  William  Adams  served  at  least  a  portion  of  his  appren- 
ticeship, the  "  one  clever  pupil "  according  to  Wedgwood 
himself.  He  eventually  became  a  great  helper  and  assistant 
to  Wedgwood,  whose  attachment  to  him  no  doubt  kept 
Adams  longer  an  employe  than  was  necessary. 

He  did  not  begin  potting  for  himself  till  about  1787,  at 
Greengates  in  Tunstall,  although  he  had  a  small  pottery 
at  Burslem  which  he  did  not  use.  The  one  he  built  at  Green- 
gates  did  not  prove  large  enough  for  his  various  activities,  so 


FIG.    31.      WINE    COOLERS. 


FIG.    32.      ADAMS    WARE. 


FIG.   33.     ADAMS  JASPER.     WEDGWOOD   BASALTES. 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

he  bought  another  one  at  Newfield,  which  was  within  easy 
distance  of  the  former.  He  made  fine  earthenware  with 
transfer  printed  patterns,  high-class  stoneware,  and  jasper, 
the  latter  by  a  formula  of  his  own,  and  decorated  in  many 
cases  by  designs  from  his  own  pencil,  since  he  was  artist 
as  well  as  master  potter.  His  jasper  ware,  like  that  of  his 
great  master,  was  of  two  kinds,  the  first  known  as  solid 
jasper,  in  which  the  colour  is  incorporated  and  goes  through 
the  whole  body,  and  the  second,  surface  jasper,  in  which 
the  plain  white  body  receives  a  coating  of  colour.  The  solid 
jasper  in  blue,  the  dark  cobalt  shade,  and  a  slaty  shade  on 
which  the  white  figures  show  to  uncommon  advantage. 

The  more  delicate  and  rarer  shades,  pale  green,  lilac,  plum, 
olive  and  pink  as  well  as  black,  appear  only  in  the  surface 
jasper.  The  demand  for  some  of  the  chpicer  productions 
of  this  variety  of  jasper  made  by  Adams,  render  specimens 
very  valuable.  Although  undoubtedly  an  "  imitator  "  and 
copyist,  his  body,  his  colour,  particularly  that  peculiar  violet 
shade  known  as  "  Adams  blue,"  and  many  of  his  designs 
were  absolutely  his  own.  His  borders  were  often  very  ex- 
quisite, and  one  in  particular  showing  entwined  circles,  was 
in  much  favour  and  employed  by  him  on  choice  specimens  of 
jasper  both  solid  and  surface.  You  can  see  it  on  the  vases 
in  Figure  32  and  the  teapots  in  Figure  33.  One  peculiarity 
of  this  border  is,  that  the  circles  in  white  are  invariably 
included  between  two  mouldings  of  the  jasper  of  the  same 
colour  as  the  ground. 

The  teapots  shown  here  have  an  interesting  history.  They 
are  of  the  exquisite  "  Adams  blue,"  have  the  interlacing 
circle  pattern  and  the  well-known  design,  "Cupid  disarmed," 
from  the  pencil  of  Adams  himself.  One  of  the  pots  is  dec- 
orated in  panels  with  the  divisions  marked  by  acanthus 
leaves,  and  the  other  shows  on  the  reverse  side  "  Apollo 

85 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

crowning  Virtue  "  after  Angelica  Kaufrman,  which  design 
was  published  in  1782. 

They  are  six  and  a  half  inches  high,  and  were  brought  to 
America  in  1806  by  a  sea  captain.  They  have  never  been 
out  of  the  hands  of  the  family  to  whom  they  were  originally 
given.  The  basaltes  tray  in  the  same  picture  is  marked 
"  Wedgwood,"  impressed,  and  was  found  in  Leamington, 
Eng.  The  small  creamer  is  of  cane-coloured  ware  and  also 
has  the  impressed  mark  of  Wedgwood.  All  of  these  pieces 
belong  to  the  collection  of  Mrs.  Joseph  Farley  of  Rochester, 
N.Y. 

At  the  Wills  sale  of  Old  Wedgwood,  a  teapot  exactly 
like  the  first  one  of  these,  of  Adams  ware,  but  in  perfect 
condition,  brought  $25.  One  like  the  second  one,  "  Cupid 
disarmed,"  brought  $23,  while  a  pair  of  vases  nine  and  a 
half  inches  high,  of  "  Adams  blue  "  decorated  with  figures 
similar  to  those  on  the  teapots,  "  Nymphs,"  "  Ceres," 
"  Cupid  disarmed,"  etc.,  like  those  shown  on  the  top  shelf 
of  Figure  32,  brought  $70. 

To  my  mind  one  of  the  most  exquisite  of  the  XVIIIth 
Century  productions  was  the  teapot.  Beginning  with  those 
of  red  ware  turned  out  by  the  Elers  Brothers  in  the  first  ten 
years  of  the  century,  and  coming  down  to  the  last  year  of  the 
last  decade,  you  find  endless  variety,  shape  and  colour,  and 
most  of  them  of  tiny  size.  The  reason  for  the  small  size  was 
clear.  1660  is  assigned  as  the  year  when  tea  began  to  be 
much  known  in  England,  and  the  following  handbill  issued 
from  a  well-known  dealer  in  coffee  and  tobacco,  whose  shop 
was  in  Exchange  Valley,  London,  shows  its  cost: 

"  Tea  in  England  in  the  past  hath  been  sold  in  the  leaf 
for  £6  and  even  £10  the  pound  weight,  and  in  respect  to 
its  dearness  and  scarcity  it  hath  been  hitherto  suitable  only 
to  grandees  and  princes.  Know  all  men  that  I,  having 

86 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

purchased  a  quantity,  sell  it  either  in  leaf  or  drink  made  ac- 
cording to  the  directions  of  the  most  knowing  merchants  in 
Eastern  countries.  By  reason  of  my  continued  care  and  in- 
dustry in  obtaining  only  the  best  tea,  very  many  noblemen, 
physicians  and  merchants  buy  of  me  the  said  leaf,  and  re- 
sort daily  to  my  house  to  drink  the  drink  thereof.  Tea  of 
the  best  quality,  as  good  as  can  be  drank  in  China,  from  1 6 
to  50  shillings  a  pound." 

For  many  years  after  this  the  precious  herb  remained  far 
too  high  in  price  to  tempt  many  except  "  grandees  and 
princes  "  to  indulge  in  it  to  any  great  extent. 

While  Adams  was  a  skilful  artist  with  his  pencil,  he  never 
hesitated  to  employ  others  when  he  had  the  opportunity. 
The  vase  shown  in  Figure  34  is  exceptionally  elegant.  It 
is  of  surface  jasper,  the  handles  of  snake  heads  being  white 
like  the  ornaments.  The  decoration  was  designed  by  Mon- 
glott  under  the  direction  of  Adams,  about  1790.  It  depicts 
"  A  Sacrifice  to  Diana  " ;  reverse,  "  Arts  and  Sciences  " 
shown  by  classical  figures.  Height  nine  inches.  This  vase 
is  in  the  collection  of  the  Earl  of  Spencer.  Figure  35  shows 
two  vases,  both  blue  and  white  jasper,  the  first  with  "  Apollo 
crowning  Virtue,"  after  a  design  by  Angelica  Kaufrman, 
published  in  1782.  Impressed  mark,  "ADAMS." 

The  second  shows  a  design  by  Pacetti,  an  artist  who  fur- 
nished many  designs  and  models  to  Wedgwood,  and  on  this 
vase  the  mark  is  "  WEDGWOOD  "  impressed.  This  vase 
is  in  the  Wedgwood  Collection  at  Nottingham  Castle  Mu- 
seum, gathered  by  Mr.  Felix  Joseph,  an  expert  on  Wedg- 
wood, and  supposed  to  show  only  specimens  of  what  is 
known  as  the  "period  of  perfection,"  1781-1795. 

The  shape  of  the  vases  and  the  lines  of  the  handles  are 
neither  as  pleasing  nor  as  artistic  as  we  expect  from  Wedg- 
wood. Very  similar  handles  were  to  be  seen  on  vases  bear- 

87 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

ing  the  Adams  mark  which  were  disposed  of  at  the  Wills 
sale,  as  well  as  on  some  made  by  Wedgwood,  decorated  with 
design  by  Flaxman  and  dated  1786. 

There  is  abundant  food  for  reflection  if  you  study  care- 
fully a  number  of  specimens  of  Wedgwood  and  Adams  jas- 
per. In  the  vases  just  spoken  of,  note  the  pattern  on  the 
base ;  it  was  used  frequently  by  Wedgwood  on  his  high-class 
jasper.  You  will  find  it  again  used  by  Adams  on  the  jasper 
vases  shown  in  Figure  32. 

On  the  vase  in  the  centre  of  the  bottom  row  in  Figure  32 
you  will  find  a  pattern  of  acanthus  leaves  used  frequently  by 
Wedgwood  on  his  "  Ornamentals  "  as  well  as  on  his  "  Use- 
ful ware."  He  considered  it  choice  enough  to  combine  with 
a  border  of  "  Signs  of  the  Zodiac  "  modelled  by  Hackwood. 
It  was  in  use  as  late  as  1794,  as  marked  specimens  testify. 

The  makers  of  jasper  ware  frequently  furnished  small 
objects  to  the  silversmith  for  mounting  in  silver  or  gold. 
If  the  objects  were  of  size  like  pitchers,  mugs,  wine  coolers, 
egg  cups,  hot  water  or  syrup  jugs,  they  were  sent  to  Shef- 
field for  a  rirn  of  plate.  The  objects  with  metal  trimmings 
are  rare  and  consequently  in  much  demand. 

The  best  artist  whom  Adams  employed  was  the  Swiss, 
named  Joseph  Monglott.  He  drew  mythological  figures 
and  groups,  and  many  of  the  designs  of  Angelica  Kaufrman 
were  also  used. 

Adams'  business,  whfle  a  good  one,  never  equalled  in  ex- 
tent that  of  Wedgwood,  nor  perhaps  that  of  the  Turners* 
at  their  best  period.  All  his  products  were  good,  whether 
stoneware,  earthenware,  painted  or  printed,  or  basaltes.  He 
was  succeeded  by  his  son,  Benjamin,  who  carried  on  the 
works  till  1820,  when  they  were  sold.  Within  recent  years 
these  works  have  again  come  into  hands  of  the  Adams' 
family,  not  direct  descendants  of  William  of  Greengates, 

88 


FIG.    34.      ADAMS    JASPER. 


FIG.    36.      CREAM-COLOURED    WARE, 

WARBURTON. 


FIG.   35A.  FIG.   3SB. 

A.     Jasper     Vase,     marked    Adams.    B.  Jasper   Vase,   marked  Wedgwood. 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

but  from  a  collateral  branch.  They  are  trying  to  preserve 
the  traditions  of  their  distinguished  relative,  and  have  the 
name  still  stand  for  a  superior  quality  of  work. 

The  mark  used  by  William  Adams  of  Greengates  was 
simply  ADAMS,  or  ADAMS  &  CO.,  impressed.  The 
former  mark  is  the  one  most  frequently  seen,  but  the 
ADAMS  &  CO.  is  sometimes  found  on  specimens  of  solid 
jasper. 

William  Adams  of  Greengates  must  not  be  confused  with 
his  relative,  Williams  Adams  of  Cobridge,  whose  blue 
printed  ware  is  so  widely  and  favourably  known  in  America 
by  his  series  of  English  views.  His  American  scenes  in 
various  colours  are  always  interesting,  and  some  of  the  rarer 
pieces  fetch  good  prices. 


THE  WARBURTONS 
V&RBVRTON. 

I7IO-I825 

THE  name  Warburton  is  generally  connected  with 
Staffordshire  figures  of  more  or  less  excellence,  and 
they  are  assigned  to  Jacob  Warburton  of  Cobridge, 
who  was  doing  excellent  work  by  1786,  and  who 
died  at  the  age  of  eighty-six  in  the  year  1826. 

But  his  reputation  should  not  rest  upon  the  figures  alone, 
as  he  made  with  some  success  both  basal  tes  and  jasper  ware, 
and  his  experiments  with  cream-coloured  ware  did  much  to 
bring  it  to  a  state  of  perfection.  The  primitive  cream-col- 
oured ware  was  tinted  by  the  glaze  which  was  made  by 
combining  lead  ore  with  a  little  flint. 

It  was  one  of  the  Astburys,  as  early  as  1725,  who  first 
applied  the  colour  to  the  body,  and  Enoch  Booth  invented 
the  fluid  glaze  which  was  applied  after  firing  the  body  to  the 
biscuit  state.  The  body  Booth  used  was  compounded  of 
Devonshire  clay,  Cornwall  clay  and  flint,  with  a  glaze  of  red 
lead,  flint  and  clay.  The  subsequent  improvement  in  the 
body  was  not  only  due  to  the  use  of  new  material,  chiefly 
Cornish  granite  and  china  clay,  but  to  the  use  of  better 
methods  in  its  manufacture,  and  in  both  of  these  the  War- 
burtons  as  well  as  Wedgwood  had  a  share* 

The  use  of  these  new  materials  did  not  become  known 
till  Cookworthy  obtained  his  patent  in  1768,  and  in  1777  he 
sold  his  patent  to  a  group  of  Staffordshire  potters,  composed 
of  Samuel  Hollins,  Anthony  Keeling,  John  Turner,  Jacob 
Warburton,  William  Clowes  and  Charles  Bagnall. 

90 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

As  the  Warburtons  had  a  hand  in  the  improvement  of  the 
body  of  the  cream-coloured  ware,  so,  too,  in  its  superior  dec- 
oration were  they  concerned.  Hot  Lane,  where  their  pot- 
tery was  situated,  was  the  place  selected  by  two  Dutch  dec- 
orators who  had  come  to  the  Potteries  to  pursue  their  busi- 
ness as  enamellers,  even  before  the  cream-coloured  ware  had 
been  perfected,  and  before  the  general  use  of  fluid  glaze. 

Salt  glaze  ware  had  been  brought  to  a  high  degree  of  ex- 
cellence. Its  colour  was  pure  white,  the  body  was  fine  and 
delicate  and  coloured  decoration  showed  on  it  to  good  ad- 
vantage. Indeed,  so  high  in  quality  was  this  simple  pottery, 
that  its  Staffordshire  makers,  ever  on  the  alert  to  keep  a  good 
market  for  their  wares,  began  to  use  enamels  for  its  decora- 
tion, and  for  which  the  very  nature  of  the  ware  was  adapted, 
and  which  enabled  them  to  compete  with  the  makers  of  por- 
celain, which  had  been  previously  the  only  material  to  which 
the  enamels  had  been  applied. 

The  nature  of  enamel  colours,  which  contain  in  addition 
to  the  pigment  a  large  quantity  of  flux  or  glass,  requires 
that  they  should  be  applied  to  the  fired  glaze.  On  account 
of  the  presence  of  the  large  amount  of  flux  or  glass  in  their 
composition,  it  is  only  necessary  to  bring  the  china  to  a 
clear  red  heat,  for  which  purpose  what  is  known  as  a  "  muf- 
fle kiln  "  is  sufficient.  Many  colours  which  would  burn  away 
if  fired  at  the  degree  of  heat  necessary  for  under-glaze  paint- 
ing, are  at  the  command  of  enamellers.  If  applied  thickly 
on  the  pitted  surface  of  the  salt  glaze,  the  enamel  was  not 
only  very  brilliant,  but  had  a  jewelled  effect. 

The  Dutchmen  settled  in  Hot  Lane  bought  the  salt- 
glazed  ware  from  the  potteries  near  at  hand,  and  set  them- 
selves to  work  to  decorate  it.  They  tried  their  best  to  keep 
their  methods  secret,  even  erecting  their  muffle  kiln  at  a 
distance  from  their  decorating  shop.  But  in  one  way  or 

91 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

another  their  methods  became  known,  men  came  from  other 
places  in  England  for  the  sake  of  the  ware,  and  decorated 
either  on  their  own  account  or  for  the  potters,  so  that  in  a 
short  time  Hot  Lane  was  a  centre  of  the  enamelling  busi- 
ness. 

It  is  said  that  Ralph  Daniel,  a  near  neighbour  of  the 
Dutchmen,  was  the  first  to  imitate  their  work.  The  War- 
burtons,  also  in  the  neighbourhood,  profited  by  the  knowledge 
of  this  style  of  decorating  which  spread  through  the  dis- 
trict, and  it  was  to  Mrs.  Warburton,  the  mother  of  Jacob, 
that  Wedgwood  intrusted  his  early  cream-coloured  ware  to 
be  decorated  with  enamel. 

The  salt-glazed  ware  made  by  the  Dutchmen  them- 
selves or  by  the  Warburtons,  or  by  Ralph  Daniel  or  other 
local  potters  who  were  among  the  first  to  employ  it,  is  ex- 
tremely decorative.  A  cold  shade  of  blue  was  effectively 
used,  designs  of  Oriental  tendency  predominated,  then  floral 
sprigs  and  sprays  with  borders  of  more  or  less  artistic  merit 
succeeded  and  were  rich  with  brilliant  colour  and  jewel-like 
effect. 

Figures  and  landscapes  came  in  later  for  their  share  of 
attention,  and  even  whole  backgrounds  of  the  gayest  enamels 
surrounded  small  reserved  panels  of  the  white,  on  which 
were  put  some  ornamental  bit  of  choice  painting.  A  large 
collection  of  salt-glazed  teapots  was  recently  sold  at  auction. 
They  were  of  the  oddest  shapes,  castles,  houses,  animals, 
and  one,  a  kneeling  camel  whose  neck  and  head  made  the 
spout,  had  a  charming  decoration  on  it  of  wild  flowers  in 
their  natural  colours.  The  effect  was  most  amusing. 

As  salt-glazed  ware  crowded  out  the  ruder  early  earthen- 
ware, so  cream-coloured  ware  crowded  out  salt-glaze.  Mr. 
Burton  in  his  "  English  Earthenware  and  Stoneware  "  gives 
the  year  1780  as  the  time  when  its  manufacture  was  prac- 

92 


V 


FIG.    37.     CREAM-COLOURED    FIGURES. 


FIG.   38.     JASPER  VASE. 
MARKED  VOYEZ. 


FIG.  41.     JASPER  WARE.      JOHN  TURNER. 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

tically  abandoned,  though,  he  states,  it  continued  to  be 
made  in  continually  decreasing  quantities  at  Burslem  till 
1823. 

There  are  few  traces  of  gold  ever  to  be  found  on  these 
early  specimens  of  Staffordshire  wares,  since  when  they  did 
use  it,  the  leaf  was  applied  with  size,  as  the  method  of  firing 
it  was  not  known  to  them  till  later.  Of  course  it  wore  off 
very  easily,  so  that  only  occasional  traces  of  it  are  found, 
like  the  faint  vine  pattern  which  can  be  seen  on  the  vase 
shown  in  Figure  36. 

It  was  at  the  Warburtons'  pottery  in  Hot  Lane  that 
Enoch  Booth's  invention  of  fluid  glaze  was  immediately  put 
in  use,  and  by  1 750  they  were  utilising  it  on  their  wares.  It 
was  not  the  custom  with  the  Staffordshire  potters  to  mark 
their  wares  till  about  1760,  so  that  no  doubt  many  pieces 
of  Jacob  Warburton's  cream-coloured  ware  are  assigned  to 
other  potters. 

The  charming  pair  of  figures  shown  here,  Figure  37,  are 
of  highly  glazed  cream-coloured  ware,  and  from  the  excel- 
lence were  probably  made  about  1780,  when  the  works  were 
in  a  most  flourishing  condition,  for  though  they  had  been 
established  before  1710,  it  was  the  broad-minded  policy  of 
Jacob  Warburton,  who  made  the  name  still  further  distin- 
guished. He,  like  Wedgwood,  appreciated  that  there  was  a 
necessity  for  distributing  their  wares  after  making  them,  and 
it  was  not  long  before  he  found  that  even  the  great  fairs 
like  Stourbridge,  Bury,  and  Bartholomew  and  travelling 
peddlers  besides  would  not  dispose  of  their  productions.  So 
not  only  did  the  Warburtons  export  their  wares  to  the  Eng- 
lish colonies  beyond  seas,  but  to  many  Continental  countries, 
to  which  places  Warburton  journeyed  himself,  and  as  he 
was  an  accomplished  linguist  he  was  able  to  materially  ad- 
vance their  foreign  business.  To  such  an  extent  did  this 

93 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

business  grow  that  at  one  time  it  was  said  to  exceed  that 
of  the  Wedgwood  firm. 

It  is  a  matter  of  fact  that  while  they  may  have  been  to  a 
certain  extent  business  rivals,  the  two  men  were  friends,  for 
Jacob  Warburton  was  the  man  chosen  by  Wedgwood  to  act 
for  him  in  the  case  against  Neale  and  Palmer  for  copying  the 
Etruscan  vases  which  were  protected  by  the  only  copyright 
ever  taken  out  by  Wedgwood.  The  matter  was  a  tedious 
one  and  occupied  Warburton  several  months,  an  adjust- 
ment of  the  difficulty  finally  being  arrived  at  in  London. 

A  descendant  of  the  family,  Peter  Warburton  of  Lane 
End,  took  out  a  patent  in  1810  for  making  lustre  ware, 
decorated  with  "  gold,  silver,  platina  or  other  metals."  The 
works  were  closed  in  1825.  Any  pieces  of  ware  marked 
"  Warburton  "  are  rare,  and  are  held  in  esteem  and  bring 
good  prices. 


94 


JOHN   VOYEZ 

CARVER  IN  IVORY,  ENAMELLER,  AND  POTTER 

J.VOYEZ 

1768-1780 

FEW  men  have  been  at  once  more  versatile  and  more 
unfortunate  than  this  man  of  mystery,  John  Voyez. 
Born  in  France,  most  of  his  work  was  done  in 
England,  and  it  is  from  that  country  that  such 
records  of  his  labours  as  are  extant,  come  to  us.    His  work 
first  assumed  importance  when  he  began  to  model  under 
Wedgwood  in  the  year  1768.    Wedgwood  writes  of  him,  "  I 
have  hired  a  modeller  for  three  years,  the  best  I  am  told  in 
London,  he  has  served  his  time  with  a  silversmith,  has  worked 
several  years  at  China  work,  has  been  two  or  three  years 
carving  in  wood  and  marble  for  Mr.  Adam  the  famous 
architect,  is  a  perfect  Master  of  the  Antique  stile  in  orna- 
ments, vases,  etc.,  works  with  equal  facility  in  Clay,  wax, 
wood,  or  stone." 

His  first  known  work  is  a  glass  cameo  showing  a  portrait 
of  King  George  and  which  gained  for  him  his  mastership 
as  craftsman.  This  was  about  1766,  and  showed  that  even 
at  that  period  he  was  an  expert  handler  of  clay  and  the  pot- 
ter's tools,  since  by  Voyez's  admirers  this  cameo  is  called  the 
forerunner  of  the  material  which  Wedgwood  called  jasper. 
There  are  splendid  examples  of  his  skill  as  an  enameller 
decorating  such  objects  as  watches  and  chatelaines,  and  there 
are  ivory  carvings,  panels,  brooches  and  rings  which  are  so 

95 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

fine  and  delicate  that  a  microscope  is  required  to  bring  out 
their  exquisite  beauty.  But  these  objects  are  just  mentioned 
as  showing  whence  came  the  skill  that  made  him  an  object 
of  suspicion  to  Wedgwood,  and  has  led  him  to  come  down  to 
us  as  the  most  successful  and  unscrupulous  imitator  of  the 
great  master  potter. 

He  worked  for  Wedgwood  for  about  a  year,  modelling 
under  the  master's  eye  many  choice  pieces,  when  his  beset- 
ting sin  overcame  him,  and  he  was  riotous,  disorderly  and 
drunken  on  the  premises  of  the  Wedgwood  works,  for  which 
he  was  sentenced  to  be  flogged  and  imprisoned  three  months. 

It  was  during  this  period  that  he  carved  in  ivory  his  larg- 
est panel  in  that  material,  and  called  it  "  Prometheus  Ale- 
bound  !  "  While  the  work  is  by  no  means  as  fine  as  many 
pieces  which  he  made  later,  it  shows  a  good  knowledge  of 
anatomy  and  a  certain  amount  of  finish.  Voyez  made  many 
of  these  excursions  into  ivory  carving  in  the  next  twenty 
years,  and  brooches,  rings  and  a  few  boxes  remain  to  show 
not  only  his  skill  and  versatility,  but  his  mercurial  humour  as 
well. 

This  design,  "  Prometheus  Ale-bound,"  is  repeated  upon 
the  vase  shown  in  Fig.  38.  The  arms  of  the  figure  in  the 
design  have  peeled  off  from  imperfect  firing.  The  vase  is 
of  basaltes,  stands  21  inches  high,  and  is  marked  on  the 
base,  "  H.  Palmer,"  while  the  design  is  signed  Voyez  and 
dated  1769.  This  vase  is  at  Holburne  Museum,  Bath,  Eng- 
land. 

Besides  these  works  of  art,  he  left  a  craft  book  in  a  sort 
of  letter  and  figure  cypher,  which  details  many  of  his 
choicest  works  in  ivory  and  enamel.  But  it  is  with  his  skill 
as  a  china  modeller  and  decorator  that  we  have  the  greatest 
interest,  and  his  work  was  so  excellent  and  his  methods  so 
dishonest  that  for  years  he  was  a  thorn  in  the  side  of  Wedg- 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

wood,  who  was  constantly  on  the  alert  to  prevent  un- 
scrupulous stealing  of  his  choicest  designs  and  processes. 
The  particular  field  in  which  Voyez  was  to  be  feared  was 
in  the  modelling  of  the  jasper  vases  which  were  in  such 
demand  that  the  Wedgwood  works  could  not  supply  them. 
On  this  subject  Wedgwood  writes,  while  Voyez  was  still 
imprisoned,  "  I  have  got  the  start  of  my  brethren  in  the 
article  of  vases  further  than  I  did  anything  else,  and  it  is 
very  much  the  most  profitable  that  I  ever  launched  into. 
It  is  a  pity  to  lose  it  by  Voyez  going  to  other  potters.  What 
do  our  competitors  stand  most  in  need  of  to  rival  us  the 
most  effectually?  Some  person  to  instruct  them  to  compose 
good  forms,  and  ornament  them  with  tolerable  propriety. 
Voyez  can  do  this  much  more  effectually  than  all  the  potters 
of  the  country  put  together,  and  without  much  labour."  He 
proposed  to  pay  Voyez  his  full  wages  for  the  three  years  to 
prevent  his  working  for  other  potters,  but  seems  to  have 
abandoned  this  idea  later. 

It  was  as  Wedgwood  feared,  for  when  Voyez  came  out 
of  prison  after  the  three  months'  incarceration,  he  joined 
at  that  time  Palmer  of  Hanley,  a  potter  who  could  neither 
produce  the  jasper  ware  nor  fire  it  promptly.  Voyez  then 
worked  for  a  time  by  himself,  then  in  partnership  with  Hales 
of  Cobridge,  and  from  time  to  time  with  other  potters  of 
the  Staffordshire  region. 

From  his  designs  were  made  all  sorts  of  jugs  and  vases, 
some  of  the  latter  in  jasper  ware,  and  some  in  Staffordshire 
coloured  and  decorated  with  figures  of  more  or  less  merit. 
Many  of  these  are  marked  J.  Voyez.  His  work  in  black 
basaltes  is  also  good,  and  this  too  is  marked,  sometimes  in 
connection  with  the  potter  who  made  the  clay. 

He  modelled  many  figures  of  the  "  Cottage  Ornament  " 
type  and  tablets,  see  Fig.  39,  and  these  were  marked  also. 

97 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

In  fact,  he  stood  high  among  the  Staffordshire  potters  in 
order  of  excellence,  only  Wood  and  Wedgwood  leading  him 
in  the  skill  with  which  he  made  these  figures  which  were  so 
popular.  He  also  made  quantities  of  the  small  intaglios 
and  seals  on  which  Wedgwood  prided  himself  so  much,  and 
in  order  to  promote  their  sale,  Voyez  forged  the  names 
"  Wedgwood  and  Bentley,"  which  he  put  at  full  length 
upon  the  seals. 

The  last  appearance  of  Voyez,  at  least  as  an  annoyance 
to  Wedgwood,  was  in  1776,  when  the  latter  writes  to  Bent- 
ley  as  follows:  "  Voyez  has  given  up  making  clay  intaglios 
and  has  sold  all  his  goods  arid  chattels  here  to  go  and  make 
paste  seals  in  London." 

Chaffers,  in  his  "  Marks  and  Monograms,"  gives  one 
mark  of  Voyez  as  late  as  1780,  but  the  place  and  date  of  his 
death  are  uncertain. 


HENRY  PALMER,   JOHN  NEALE 

NEALE  AND  PALMER 
1769-1776 

NEALE  &  WILSON 
1787 

NetU&Pa!»«r. 
Neaie  &  Co. 


HENRY  PALMER 
1760-1769 

NEALES  &  Co. 
1778-1787 


J.   NEALE 
1776-1778 

WILSON 
1800 


C 
WILSON 

THE  names  of  Palmer  and  Neale  are  so  almost  in- 
extricably mixed,  that  it  is  with  difficulty  that  the 
approximate  dates  of  their  various  partnerships  are 
to  be  unravelled.     Palmer's  name  is  given  by  Bur- 
ton as  Henry,  and  by  Rhead  Brothers  as  Humphrey,  either 
of  which  may  fit  him  equally  well  since  he  uses  only  the  name 
H.  Palmer  in  the  circular  mark  which  stamped  his  wares 
prior  to  1769,  when  John  Neale  became  his  partner. 

Palmer  is  one  of  the  men  who  most  flagrantly  copied 
Wedgwood's  wares  and  designs,  sending  his  wife  disguised — 
so  the  story  goes — to  buy  at  the  Wedgwood  showrooms  in 
London  the  new  patterns  as  they  came  up  from  the  pot- 
teries at  Burslem  and  Etruria. 

It  was  Palmer  who  employed  Voyez  as  a  modeller  after 
he  left  the  employ  of  Wedgwood,  and  Palmer  was  suffi- 

99 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

ciently  unscrupulous  to  make  models  of  the  reliefs  on  Wedg- 
wood's vases,  and  use  the  same  on  his  own  wares. 

That  he  was  a  skilful  potter  in  some  lines  his  work  testi- 
fies, and  his  black  basaltes  was  of  an  excellent  texture,  not 
far  behind  that  of  Wedgwood,  and,  as  he  used  the  same  de- 
signs, equally  artistic. 

Palmer  was  established  at  Hanley  about  1760,  and  his 
wife,  a  daughter  of  Thomas  Heath  of  Lane  Delph,  an  old 
potter,  assisted  him  in  pushing  his  enterprise.  John  Neale, 
brother-in-law  of  Palmer,  was  taken  into  partnership  about 
1769,  and  attended  to  the  London  end  of  the  business. 

They  were  not  very  successful  financially,  however,  and 
Palmer's  difficulties  were  so  great  that  Neale  took  over  the 
business  in  1776,  and  ran  it  under  his  own  name  for  two 
years.  In  1778  he  was  joined  by  Robert  Wilson,  and  the 
firm  name  became  Neale  and  Co.  They  continued  to  work 
under  this  title  from  1778  to  1787,  when  it  was  changed  to 
Neale  and  Wilson,  becoming  finally  Wilson,  about  1800, 
the  son  of  Robert,  known  as  "  C.  Wilson,"  carrying  on  the 
business. 

The  changes  which  affected  the  personnel  of  the  firm 
made  no  difference  in  their  production.  They  produced  fine 
basaltes,  in  vases,  seals  and  medallions,  some  of  these  latter 
being  very  large  in  size. 

As  soon  as  the  composition  of  Wedgwood's  jasper  became 
known  through  the  potteries  they  seized  the  formula  and 
made  much  ware,  some  of  it  of  a  very  high  class,  see  Figure 
40.  Many  of  their  productions  are  marked,  for  though 
they  were  undoubted  pirates,  they  had  little  hesitation  in 
marking  their  wares  with  their  own  names. 

Besides  their  jaspers  and  basaltes  they  made  cream-col- 
oured ware,  some  ornamental  pieces  of  which  were  marbled, 
decorated  with  heads,  busts,  wreaths,  etc.,  and  touched  up 

IOO 


/v 


FIG.     40.     JASPER     WARE.       NEALE     &     Co.          FIG.    44.     "  WEDGWOOD    &    Co. 


FIG.     42.     JASPER     WARE.       MARKED    TURNER 


FIG.    43.     SALAD    DISH.      "  WEDGWOOD    &    Co." 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

with  gilding.  Some  of  the  vases  of  this  "  granite  ware  "  are 
very  handsome  in  shape,  material  and  ornamentation.  Many 
of  the  vases  were  ten  inches  high,  not  only  the  granite  and 
basaltes  ones,  but  the  jasper  as  well.  At  the  Wills  sale, 
1908,  a  pair  of  blue  and  white  jasper  vases,  with  handles 
and  covers,  10  inches  high,  subjects  of  decorations  "  Char- 
lotte at  Tomb  of  Werther,"  "  A  Sacrifice,"  "  Antonia,"  date 
1776-1778,  brought  $76.  While  another  pair  II  inches 
high,  with  Shakesperian  subjects,  brought  $260. 

At  the  same  sale,  a  black  basaltes  teapot,  5  inches  high, 
Palmer  &  Neale  period,  with  "  Justice  addressing  Peace, 
Labour  and  Plenty,"  "  Venus  and  Cupid,"  "  The  Bourbon- 
naos  Shepherd,"  copied  from  Wedgwood  designs,  brought 

$19. 

A  pair  of  jardinieres,  blue  and  white  jasper,  decorated  with 
portraits  of  contemporary  actors  and  actresses,  6  inches  high, 
mark  Neale  &  Co.,  1778-1787,  $75.  A  basaltes  sugar  bowl, 
decorated  with  groups  of  shepherds  and  shepherdesses,  5 
inches  high,  Neale  &  Co.,  1780 — $30. 

When  the  pottery  came  into  the  hands  of  the  younger 
Wilson  his  most  successful  production  was  a  superior  red 
stoneware,  decorated  with  figures  in  black.  The  mark  he 
used  is  given,  and  is  found  on  white  ware  with  blue  printed 
patterns,  the  red  ware  mentioned,  and  buff  ware,  with  col- 
oured figures. 


i  or 


JOHN  TURNER 

1762-1786.    SUCCEEDED  BY  HIS  SONS,  1786-1803 

TURNER 

1762—1786  1786—1803 

THE  student  of  the  pottery  of  the  XVIIIth  Century 
finds  so  much  to  admire  and  interest,  that  although 
many   of   the    Staffordshire   group    followed    care- 
fully in  one  another's  footsteps,  the  results  furnish 
an  unlimited  field  for  exploration. 

While  we  call  those  men  who  borrowed  without  scruple 
from  Wedgwood  "  imitators,"  the  conditions  under  which 
they  worked  must  not  be  overlooked.  Here  they  were  all 
gathered  together  in  a  comparatively  small  district ;  the  work- 
men passed  from  one  master  to  another,  carrying  with  them 
methods  and  formulas;  the  processes  were  not  protected  by 
patents  save  in  isolated  instances,  and  all  were  eager  to  em- 
brace the  advantages  of  a  constantly  increasing  market. 

Such  men  as  Jacob  Warburton,  William  Adams  and  John 
Turner  were  friends  and  associates  of  Wedgwood,  and  were 
all  practical  potters  constantly  engaged  in  experimenting  to 
perfect  their  products.  The  two  who  came  nearest  to  Wedg- 
wood in  the  excellence  of  their  wares,  particularly  in  the 
jasper  and  basaltes  were  William  Adams  and  John  Turner. 
In  1762  the  latter  came  to  Lane  End  from  Stoke,  where 
he  had  been  engaged  in  the  making  of  stoneware  with  a  man 
named  Bankes.  After  his  removal,  like  the  other  potters 
his  neighbours,  he  made  the  usual  stoneware  and  cream-col- 

102 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

cured  ware,  and  by  his  discovery  that  there  was  fine  clay  to 
be  had  at  Green  Dock,  near  the  Longton  cemetery,  was  able 
to  produce  a  superior  body.  This  Green  Dock  clay  when 
fired  had  in  itself  a  fine  creamy  tint,  and  when  to  it  was 
added  the  necessary  amount  of  china  clay  and  china  stone, 
he  was  able  to  produce  a  stoneware,  vitreous  and  finely 
grained,  and  ranging  through  all  the  tints  from  cream- 
colour  to  cane-colour. 

In  this  material,  of  which  he  was  by  far  the  most  suc- 
cessful maker,  he  produced  bowls,  mugs,  inkstands,  bulb- 
pots  and  very  charming  busts  and  figures  which  he  mounted 
on  bases  or  plinths  of  black  basaltes  which  threw  them  out  in 
fine  relief.  His  jugs  were  of  exceptional  merit,  made  from 
the  same  vitreous  stoneware,  decorated  with  hunting  scenes, 
ships,  etc.,  in  relief,  the  tops  and  bases  engine-turned,  or  with 
wreaths  or  ornaments,  and  with  most  satisfactory  handles, 
firm,  good  in  shape  and  well  placed.  The  neck  and  some- 
times a  portion  of  the  handle  were  coated  with  a  dark  brown 
glaze,  and  very  rarely  one  is  found  with  the  glaze  top  of  a 
peculiar  shade  of  slate  blue.  Indeed  both  Adams  and  Turner 
used  very  different  shades  of  blue  from  those  employed  by 
Wedgwood,  whether  intentionally  or  by  accident  it  is  hard 
to  determine. 

As  Turner's  stoneware  was  his  own  composition,  so  was 
the  ware  he  called  jasper,  which  is  not  at  all  the  same  body 
to  which  Wedgwood  gave  the  same  name.  Turner's  is 
more  porcellaneous,  very  fine  in  texture  and  grain.  The 
cup  and  saucer  in  Figure  41  is  a  good  example  of  Turner's 
work.  The  engine-turning  on  both  pieces,  the  fine  border 
and  pleasing  figures  show  the  excellence  of  his  methods.  A 
cup  and  saucer  of  similar  design,  marked  "  Turner,  1790," 
brought  $14  at  the  sale  of  the  Wills  collection  of  "  Old 
Wedgwood."  A  jardiniere  and  cover  by  Turner,  also  of 

103 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS     IMITATORS 

jasper  with  classical  figures  six  inches  high,  date  assigned 
1762,  sold  for  $15. 

Another  cup  and  saucer,  jasper,  with  subject,  "  Cupids 
and  dancing  Nymph,"  two  inches  high,  and  saucer  five  and 
three-quarters  inches  in  diameter,  brought  $26,  while  a  cir- 
cular medallion,  jasper,  subject  "  Cupid  inflaming  the 
Mind,"  two  and  one-eighth  inches  in  diameter,  brought  $18. 
Besides  the  choice  vases,  like  the  one  shown  in  Figure  42, 
Turner  produced  may  small  objects  which  were  popular  at 
that  period,  buttons,  beads,  buckles,  brooches,  seals,  small 
cases  for  sewing  implements,  etc.,  and  these  were  sent  to 
Birmingham  or  Sheffield  for  mounting. 

John  Turner  died  at  the  age  of  forty-eight  in  the  year 
1786.  The  business  was  carried  on  by  his  sons,  John  and 
William,  and  they  still  further  increased  the  reputation  of 
the  firm.  After  they  took  it  in  hand  they  used  barytes  in 
the  composition  of  the  body  of  their  wares,  the  knowledge 
of  the  use  of  it  by  Wedgwood  having  by  this  time  become 
common  property.  This  increased  the  resemblance  of  their 
wares  to  his,  and  they  not  only  made  table  furnishings,  but 
very  choice  vases  in  basaltes.  While  the  figures  and  groups 
may  not  have  been  taken  directly  from  designs  used  by  Wedg- 
wood on  similar  objects,  yet  the  truth  is  they  were  so  much 
alike  as  to  be  easily  taken  for  his. 

A  large  business  had  been  worked  up  by  the  younger 
Turners  in  France,  which  was  indeed  their  largest  market. 
The  French  Revolution  worked  havoc  with  them,  since 
not  only  did  they  receive  no  more  orders,  but  they  could 
not  collect  what  was  already  owing  them.  William  Turner, 
who  went  to  Paris  to  see  what  he  could  save  from  the  wreck, 
was  thrown  into  prison  and  narrowly  escaped  the  guillotine. 
The  business  dragged  along  till  1803,  when  the  moulds  and 
patterns  were  sold  out  to  Adams. 

104 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

In  1800  the  brothers  had  tried  to  take  out  a  patent  for 
a  new  method  of  making  porcelain,  using  in  it  "Tabber- 
ner's  Mine  Rock,"  but  were  not  successful.  After  the  fail- 
ure of  their  business  John  Turner  entered  the  pottery  of 
Thomas  Minton  at  Stoke-on-Trent,  and  did  much  to  as- 
sist in  bringing  that  firm  to  its  present  high  position  among 
English  potters. 

These  Turners  must  not  be  confused  with  Thomas  Turner 
of  Caughley,  who  made  cream-coloured  ware  and  excep- 
tionally fine  figures  and  busts,  as  well  as  porcelain,  and 
who  was  the  originator  of  the  "  willow  "  and  "  dragon  " 
patterns. 

The  marks  of  the  Lane  End  Turners  are  given, — though 
many  of  their  specimens  are  not  marked  at  all. 


105 


"WEDGWOOD   &   CO." 

1796-1800 


THERE  are  to  be  found  in  America  many  specimens 
of  earthenware,  some  of  them  exceedingly  choice, 
which  bear  the  mark  "  Wedgwood  &  Co."  These 
were  made  by  Ralph  Wedgwood,  cousin  of  Josiah, 
and  brought  up  in  Burslem,  where  he  worked  for  a  time  as 
potter.  He  seems  to  have  lacked  the  steadiness  of  his  great 
cousin,  for  in  1796  we  find  him  at  Ferrybridge,  associated 
with  a  potter  named  Tomlinson,  and  making  the  usual 
wares,  cream-coloured  painted  and  printed,  but  not  potting 
any  of  the  choicer  materials  like  jasper  or  basaltes.  He 
remained  at  Ferrybridge  only  four  years,  till  1800,  and  then 
gave  up  the  business  of  potting  to  give  his  whole  time  to 
perfecting  his  inventions. 

The  tray  shown  in  Figure  43  is  of  cream-coloured  ware, 
painted  with  a  vine-leaf  border.  It  is  nine  inches  long  and 
bears  the  mark  "  Wedgwood  &  Co."  impressed.  It  is  not 
such  a  good  piece  of  potting  as  the  plate  in  Figure  44,  which 
is  extremely  pretty,  with  the  greyish-green  foliage,  touched 
with  bronzing.  In  addition  to  the  mark  Wedgwood  this  has 
also  "  Nonpareil,"  "  Wecow,"  and  the  figures  684.  It  was 
made  by  the  Stockton  firm  mentioned  later. 

I  never  see  the  name  of  Wedgwood  &  Co.  without  being 
reminded  of  an  experience  of  my  own,  in  which  my  en- 
deavours to  satisfy  two  collectors  almost  resulted  in  my 
being  crushed  between  the  upper  and  nether  millstones. 

106 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

The  remains  of  a  dinner  set  of  fine  old  Ralph  Wedgwood 
ware  were  found  by  a  dealer  who  asked  my  assistance  in 
disposing  of  them.  The  ware  was  exquisite,  almost  as  light  as 
egg-shell  china,  and  the  decoration  was  a  conventional  border 
in  a  greyish  shade  of  blue.  Four  platters,  eleven  plates,  a 
gravy  boat  and  a  vegetable  dish  remained  in  perfect  condi- 
tion ;  several  of  the  pieces  were  marked,  and  it  was  certainly 
a  very  choice  "  find."  Besides  the  merit  of  the  set  there 
were  "  associations,"  and  these  indeed  are  forces  which 
cannot  always  be  reckoned  with.  At  the  dealer's  request  I 
took  a  plate  to  a  collector  whom  I  knew,  who  admired  the 
china,  said  he  wanted  it,  and  agreed  to  let  the  dealer  know 
immediately.  But  being  a  busy  man,  he  failed  to  do  this 
for  several  days — and  hereby  hangs  the  tale. 

I  mentioned  "  associations."  The  china  had  belonged  to 
the  Schuyler  family,  whose  hospitality  in  their  splendid 
home  at  Albany  in  Colonial  days  had  included  all  the  fa- 
mous men  and  women  of  the  time.  The  dealer  not  hearing 
from  the  collector  to  whom  I  had  taken  the  plate,  included 
one  of  the  other  plates  in  a  box  of  "  antiques,"  which  he  was 
sending  to  New  York  for  another  purchaser  to  inspect.  He 
mentioned  the  Schuylers  as  being  the  original  owners  of  the 
"Wedgwood  and  Co."  set,  and  here  the  trouble  began! 

By  return  mail  came  a  letter  from  the  New  York  man 
inclosing  a  check  for  the  "  Wedgwood  and  Co.,"  saying  he 
wished  it  as  a  Christmas  present  for  his  wife,  as  she  was  a 
Schuyler  by  descent,  and  would  be  so  delighted  with  the  set 
which  had  belonged  to  her  ancestors. 

But  in  the  meantime  Collector  Number  One  had  re- 
membered to  telephone  that  he  would  buy  the  set,  and  it 
had  been  sent  to  him.  Possession  is  nine  points  of  the  law, 
certainly — ten  points  it  proved  in  this  case,  but  not  without 
a  struggle.  The  New  York  collector  kept  the  mails  hot  with 

107 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

his  letters  to  the  dealer,  to  me  and  to  Collector  Number 
One!  I  was  appealed  to  by  both  sides,  Collector  Number 
One  wanting  it  because  he  liked  it,  and  asking  if  I  thought 
he  really  ought  to  give  it  up,  and  Collector  Number  Two 
urging  me  in  view  of  all  circumstances  to  induce  Number 
One  to  let  him  have  it,  offering  to  pay  double  price  and  using 
every  argument  in  his  power.  You  can  imagine  the  amount 
of  diplomacy  required  to  satisfy  them  both  and  lose  the 
friendship  of  neither. 

Besides  this  firm  composed  of  Ralph  Wedgwood  and 
Tomlinson,  there  was  a  firm  at  Stockton,  consisting  of  Wil- 
liam Smith  and  some  others,  who  signed  ware  in  a  fraudu- 
lent manner,  leading  the  unwary  to  be  deceived.  They  used 
the  name  but  spelled  it  "Wedgewood,"  or  left  out  the  sec- 
ond "e,"  putting  in  its  place  a  dot,  or  space,  or  used  the 
name  "  Wedgwood  "  and  the  initials  "  W.  S.  &  Co."  and 
on  some  of  their  plates  used  "  Wedgwood  &  Co."  These 
imitators  never  attempted  any  of  the  choicer  wares,  but  made 
much  printed  ware  in  various  colours,  and  on  common  ware. 
Very  recently  I  have  come  across  a  beautiful  vase  in  "  rosso- 
antico,"  fine  in  shape,  well  potted  and  having  as  decoration 
Wedgwood's  well-known  "  Sale  of  Cupids."  The  vase  was 
one  of  a  pair  given  as  a  wedding  present  about  1850,  and 
must  have  been  made  after  the  injunction,  for  on  the  bot- 
tom, impressed  is  the  mark  "  W.  S.  &  Co." 

In  1847  this  firm  was  enjoined  by  J.  Wedgwood  and  Sons 
of  Etruria  from  using  the  Wedgwood  mark  any  longer. 
Even  these  pieces  made  by  the  Smith  firm  have  an  interest 
to  collectors,  particularly  if  one  should  chance  to  find  some 
of  the  better  class  platters  or  bowls,  printed  in  black  or  col- 
ours. They  hold,  however,  absolutely  no  comparison  with 
the  work  of  the  first  "Wedgwood  and  Co.,"  or  his  great 
cousin. 

108 


FIG.    46.     JASPEB    WARE.      STEEL. 


TTTTTT 


FIG.  45.     JASPER  WARE.     J.  LOCKETT.  FIG.  47.    CREAM  WARE.    JOHN    AYNSLEY. 


J.  LOCKETT 

J.LOCKETT. 

THIS   pottery  was  established  in   1780  and  is  still 
carried  on.     Lockett  was  another  of  those  Staf- 
fordshire makers  actively  engaged  in  making  popu- 
lar goods,  and  among  them  we  find  jasper  ware. 
His  pottery  was  established  about  1780  at  Burslem,  later 
at  Lane  End,  and  must  have  been  considerable  in  extent, 
for  he  made  stoneware  of  various  kinds,  gained  quite  a  repu- 
tation for  his  figures,  and  later,  about  1802,  was  known  as 
a  maker  of  superior  lustre  ware.    The  works  are  continued 
under  the  title  of  J.  Lockett  and  Sons,  and  they  still  make 
lustre  wares  of  various  kinds. 

The  jasper,  an  example  of  which  we  show,  is  more  .pleas- 
ing than  that  put  out  by  some  of  the  other  Staffordshire 
makers.  The  figures  are  better,  the  quality  of  the  body  is 
smoother  and  softer,  the  undercutting  brings  out  the  design 
in  better  relief.  It  is  only  necessary  to  see  how  admirable 
the  ornament  is  at  the  top  of  the  teapot  shown  in  Figure 
45  to  appreciate  what  good  potting  was  done  by  Lockett, 
even  if  the  shape  of  the  teapot  is  somewhat  heavy.  This 
specimen  is  at  the  British  Museum  and  is  larger  than  many 
of  the  pots  made  at  that  period,  being  seven  and  a  half 
inches  wide  and  ten  inches  high.  It  is  slightly  unusual 
from  the  handle  being  placed  on  the  top  instead  of  at  the 
side,  and  would  have  been  much  more  attractive  if  it  had 
been  placed  in  the  ordinary  way.  The  fact  of  the  nose  being 
white  is  another  blemish,  but  the  charming  figures  and  good 
quality  of  the  ware  make  up  for  many  defects. 

109 


DANIEL   STEEL,  BURSLEM 

STEEL, 
1786-1824 

ANOTHER  potter  of  no  very  great  importance  was 
Daniel  Steel,  who  had  his  works  at  Burslem.    The 
making  of  jasper  or  of  a  material  which  looked  like 
jasper  was  the  product  by  which  he  has  come  down 
to  us,  and  several  pieces  by  him,  marked  with  his  name,  show 
the  character  of  his  work. 

The  vase  given  in  Figure  46  is  in  the  British  Museum, 
and  while  pleasing  enough  in  its  way,  holds  no  comparison 
with  the  Wedgwood  product,  nor  indeed  with  the  work  of 
such  men  as  Adams,  Neale  or  Turner.  The  white  figures 
show  cracks  in  many  places;  they  are  not  sharp  and  clear, 
and  the  form  of  his  vases  are  heavy  and  lacking  in  both 
grace  and  elegance. 

There  is  considerable  divergence  of  opinion  as  to  when 
he  commenced  his  potting,  Chaffers  giving  the  date  as  1786, 
while  the  British  Museum  Guide  places  it  at  1766.  The 
former  date  seems  more  likely  to  be  the  correct  one,  since 
Wedgwood's  experiments  with  the  jasper  body  did  not  be- 
gin till  1774,  and  his  final  successes,  which  included  not  only 
the  perfection  of  the  body,  but  means  of  firing  it,  were  not 
concluded  till  three  years  later. 

Twenty-eight  years  is  sufficient  time,  however,  to  put  out 
large  quantities  of  pottery,  and  Steel  no  doubt  contributed 
his  share  to  the  large  amount  which  was  constantly  sent  to 
this  country.  His  pottery  was  closed  about  1824,  possibly 
absorbed  by  some  of  the  numerous  firms  which  were  con- 
stantly coming  into  being  in  that  congested  region. 

no 


JOHN  AYNSLEY 

Aynslty 
Lane,  EH  £. 

1790-1826 

JOHN  AYNSLEY  was  one  of  the  smaller  Stafford- 
shire potters  who  established  his  works  before  the 
death  of  Josiah  Wedgwood  and  who,  while  never  en- 
croaching to  any  extent  on  the  higher-grade  wares, 
imitated  as  well  as  he  was  able  the  cream-coloured  ware 
which  had  long  been  one  of  Wedgwood's  staples.    By  1802 
his  pottery  was  at  its  most  flourishing  condition,  and  in  Fig- 
ure 47  is  given  one  of  his  cream-coloured  plates  such  as  he 
presented  to  apprentices  when  they  were  about  to  leave  his 
works. 

There  are  a  number  of  pious  inscriptions  on  the  plate 
which  is  marked  Lane  End,  and  the  general  appearance  of 
it  is  Masonic,  owing  to  the  compass.  The  motto  within 
the  circle  reads,  "  Keep  within  compass  and  you  shall  be 
sure  to  avoid  many  troubles  which  others  endure." 

His  work  was  well  done  and  the  printing  clear.  His 
mark  was  Aynsley,  Lane  End. 

A  full  list  of  those  potters  who  have  copied  or  imitated 
the  wares  of  the  "  prince  of  potters "  would  include  the 
names  of  many  outside  of  England.  Even  in  Staffordshire 
and  its  neighbourhood  were  a  number  who  followed  in  his 
footsteps  in  one  material,  like  Keeling  and  Toft,  Birch,  and 

III 


WEDGWOOD    AND    HIS    IMITATORS 

Elijah  Mayer,  all  of  whom  made  excellent  black  ware, 
similar  in  shapes  (particularly  in  Useful  wares)  to  those 
made  by  Wedgwood,  and  ornamented  with  the  same  class 
of  figures,  festoons,  etc,  which  he  used. 

There  were  many  small  and  insignificant  makers  who 
copied  boldly  the  cream-coloured  ware,  and  it  is  impossible 
to  give  their  names,  much  less  examples  of  their  work.  The 
chief  offenders,  if  we  can  call  them  such,  when  they  made 
ware  of  excellence  and  beauty,  have  been  treated  of  here. 
The  marks  which  they  used,  if  they  used  any,  have  been 
given,  but  there  still  remain  many  specimens  of  all  the  wares 
like  those  made  at  Burslem  and  Etruria  which  have  no  mark 
at  all. 

With  regard  to  these,  the  only  thing  to  be  done  is  to  be- 
come familiar  with  the  feeling  and  appearance  of  the  old 
ware,  and  then  settle  for  yourself  about  the  period  to  which 
your  specimens  should  belong,  even  if  you  cannot  "  name  " 
them. 

There  is  ever  a  fascination  in  a  good  piece  of  old  pottery 
which  comes  under  the  head  of  "  maker  unknown,"  for  it 
always  invites  speculation;  there  is  always  the  chance  that 
sometime  you  may  see  its  duplicate,  marked,  and  there 
clings  about  it  certain  mystery  which  you  would  not  rudely 
tear  away. 


112 


INDEX 


ADAMS,  BENJ.,  88 

"Adams  blue,"  85 

Adams,  Wm.,  84-89,  102,  no 

Advertisements,  27,  28 

Agate  ware,  2,  17,  29,  30,  31, 

40 

Alders,  Thomas,  3 
America,  n,  12,  27,  33,  49,  106 
"Ancient  Philosophers,  Poets, 

Orators,"  58 
Angeling  44 

Antiquarian,   So.   Concord,   30 
Argand's  burner,  21 
Astbury,  John,  32 
Astbury,  Thomas,  32  90 
Astle,  Thomas,  43 
Aynsley,  John,   in 

BACON,  JOHN,  43,  48,  79 

Baddeley,   7 

Bagnell,  Charles,  90 

Bakewell,  48 

Bamboo,  22,  78 

Bankes,  102 

Barberini  vase,   15,   16,  43,   60, 

61,  62 
Barker,  25 
Barrett,  G.,  48 
Barytes,  54,  55,  104 
Basaltes,  7,  9,  15,  17,  21,  22,  42, 

70-77,  86,  90,  100,  103 
Bas-reliefs,  20,  43,  44,  63-70 
Beads,  57 
Bentley,  Thomas,.  8,  9,  10-14,  *8, 

26,  30,  44,  55,  81 
Birch,   in 
Birmingham,  4,  7,  9 
"Black  ware,"  41-53 
"  Blue  necks,"  40 
Boot,  42,  79 

Booth,  Enoch,  32,  90,  93 
Borders,  38,  39,  58,  85,  103 


Boston,  xz 

Boston  Museum  of  Fine  Arts,  26 
Bottles,  57 

"Brick  House,"  7,  8,  13,  84 
British  Museum,  58,  61,  63,  no 
Bronze  Etruscan,  17,  47 
Browne,  48 

Burslem,  i,  2,  3,  5,  6,  7,  9,  19, 
24,  26,  30,  31,  39,  41,  84*  106, 

112 

Burton,  Wm.,  54,  92 
Byerley,  Thomas,  14 

CADES,  44 
Cadiz,  ii 
Cameos,  20,  43,  44,  46,  56,  57, 

58,  95 

Candelabra,  21 

Cane-coloured  ware  17,  78 

Catalogues,  20,  22,  23,  45,  46, 
47,  60,  70 

Cateaton  St.,  9 

Cauliflower  ware,   25,  26,   27 

Cawk,  54 

Chaffers  "  Marks  and  Mono- 
grams," 98  no 

Champion,  13,  33 

Chelsea,  11,  38,  48,  49 

Chemists  vessels,   82 

Chimney  sets,  45,  49 

China  stone,  33 

Christie,  47 

Churchyard  Works,  41 

Clays,  6,  29,  30,  32,  33,  35,  54, 
55,  80,  90,  95,  103 

Cliff  Bank  Pottery,  3 

Clowes,  Wm.,  90 

Cobridge,  90 

Colonies,  7 

Colours,  54 

Continent,  7,  8,  93 

Cookworthy,  13,  33,  90 


INDEX 


Cooper,  N,  34,  48 

Coward,  J.,  43 

Cox,  Wm.,  7 

"Cottage  Ornaments,"  97 

Cream-coloured  ware,  5,  7,  9,  15, 
17,  27,  28,  30,  32,  33,  34,  35, 
36,  37,  39,  40,  90,  91,  92,  93, 
97,  100,  103,  105,  no 

Crewe,  Miss,  63 

Crystalline  pebbled  ware,  17,  30 

DALMAZZONI,  A.,  43,  44 

Daniel,  Ralph,  92 

Dassier,   21 

Delany,   Mrs.,    34 

Delftware,  5,   17,  28 

Denby,  42,   48 

Devaere,  John,  43 

Dinner  service,  35,  36 

"  Domestic  Employments,"  63 

Dutch  potters,  91 

EARTHENWARE,  85 

East  Indies,  33 

*  Egyptian  Mythology,"  58 

"  Egyptian  Black  Clay,"  41 

Elers   Bros.,   41,   77,   86 

Emperors,  21 

Enamel,    33,   38,   39,   91 

Encaustic  ware,   15,  49,  50 

Engine  work,  7 

England,    12,    59,    86,    92,    95 

"  English       Earthenware       and 

Stoneware,"  54,  92 
Etruria,   4,    11,    14,   19,  42,   43, 

44,   48,   70,   81,  84,   108,   112 
Etruria   Hall,   n,   13,   55 
Etruscan,    12,    22,    42,    48,    61, 

94 


"  FABULOUS      AGE 

GREEKS,"  58 
Fairs,  93 

"Family    Bible,"    9 
Farley,   Mrs.  J.,   86 
Fenton,   3 
Ferrybridge,    106 
Figures,  93 
Firing,  56,  60,  93 


OF        THE 


Flaxman,    J.,    16,    43,    44,    45, 
46,  47,  57,  59,  61,  63,  77,  88 
Flower  and  Root  pots,  22 
Fothergill,    Dr.,    79 
Frankin,  B.,  12,  13 
France,  33,  95 
Fratoddi,  43 
Frontispiece,   58 

GARNER,  25 

Garrick,  D.,  36 

Gatty,  Mr.  C.  T.,  70 

Genoa,    n 

Germany,  33 

Glaze,  4,  6,  24,  25,  26,  32,  77, 

90,  91 

Glover,  Thomas,  48 
Gold,  93 
Cosset,   L,  43 
Grand  Trunk  Canal,  6 
Greatbach,    William,    6,    7,    25, 

32 
"  Greek  and  Roman  Mythology," 

58 

Greek   St.,    n,   34,  49 
Green    Dock,    103 
Green    Gates,    84 
"Green    Ware,"   4,    5,    17,    24, 

25,  26 
Griffiths,  35 

HACKWOOD,  WM.,  12,  42,  45,  62 

Hanley,   7,    12,   48,    100 

Handles,  42,  87,  103 

"  Handbook       of       Wedgwood 

Ware,"  57 
Hamburg,  n 

Hamilton^  Sir  Wm.,  58,  59,  61 
Harrison,  John,  3 
"Heads  of  Illustrious  Romans," 

21 

"  Heads  of  the  Popes,"   21 
Heath,  Thomas,   100 
Hollins,  Sam'l,  90 
Holland,  33,  49 
Homeric  vases,  59 
Hoskins  and   Grant,  43 
Hot  Lane,  91,  92,  93 
Hutchins,   48 


114 


INDEX 


"  ILLUSTRIOUS     MODERNS,"     13, 

21,  45,  58,  7o,  71,  76 
Inkstands,  22 

Intaglios,    15,    20,  '46,    57,    70 
Italy,    8,   43,   49 
Ivory  ware,  33 
"Ivy  House,"  5 

JASPER,  7,  13,  15,  17,  21,  22,  54- 
76,  77.  85,  88,  100,  103,  109, 
no 

"Jasper  dip,"  55 

KAUFMAN,  ANGELICA,  86,  87 
Keeling,  Anthony,  90 
Keeling  and  Toft,  in 
"Kings    and    Queens    of    Eng- 
land," 21 
"Kings  and  Queens  of  France," 

21 

"LA  GRENOUILLIERE,"  34 

Lamps,  21 

Landre,   Mrs.,  42,  43,  63 

Lane  Delph,  32,  100 

Lane  End,  35,  94,  102 

Lathe,  7 

Le  Brun,  48 

Leeds,  40 

Leg  amputated,  10 

Leghorn,  n 

Leipsic,  n 

Liverpool,  7,  8,  9 

Lochee,    43 

Lockett,  J.,  109 

London,    7,    9,    10,    27,    34,    49, 

94,  99,  100 
Lustre  ware,  15,  79-81 

MANZOLINI,  44 

Mangiarotti,  43 

Marbled  ware,  9,  29,  30,  31 

Marks,   80,   81,  83,   87,   88,   89, 

94,  96,  98,  100,  101,  105,  106, 

108,   in 

"Masks,    Chimaeras,    etc.,"    58 
Materials,   17 
Mayer,   29 
Medallions   9,    20,   21,    45,    46, 

63-70 


Medals,  21 

Metallic  oxides,  54 

Meteyard,  Miss,  35,  37,  41,  55, 

Minton,  Thos.,  105 

"  Miscellaneous,"  58 

Monglott,  J.,  87,  88 

Mortars,  22,  82 

Mottled    ware,    17,    29,    30,    31, 

4i 

Moulds,  30,   56,   58,   60,  62,  70 
Mountings,  56,  57,  88. 

NAPLES,  n. 

Narva,  n. 

Neale,  J.,  99-101,  no. 

Neale   and   Palmer,  48,  99-101. 

New  England,  27. 

Newfield,  85. 

Newport  St.,  10. 

New  York,  n. 

Niccolo,  46. 

"OLD  WEDGWOOD/'  58 
Oriental  ware,  5. 
"Ornamental  wares,"  10,  16,  18, 
19,  20,  43,  44,  56,  88. 

PACETTI,  43,  87. 

Palmer,  H.,  12,  99-101. 

Parker,   R.,  43. 

Parker,  T.,  42. 

Patent,   n,  48. 

Patterns,  37. 

Peart,  43. 

Pearl  white  ware,   17,   79-81. 

"Period    of   Perfection,"    87. 

"  Pickle  leaves,"  26. 

"Pierced    and  gilt,"   37. 

Pingo,   43. 

Pitcher  moulds,  15,  56. 

Plinths,  46. 

Porcelain,  13,  33,  41,  54. 

Portland,    Duke    of,    62. 

Portland,  Duchess  of,  61. 

"Portland  House,"  n,  34. 

"  Potteries,  The,"  41,   77,   91. 

"  Punched  work,"  37,  39,  40. 


INDEX 


QUEEN  CATHERINE,  33,  34  Stoneware,    5,   7,    17,    28,    102, 

Queen    Charlotte,    32,    80.  103. 

"  Queen's  ware,"  32,  33,  35,  36.      "  Surface  Agate,"  31. 


HANDLE,  7. 
Ratisbon,  n. 
Red-ware,  7 
Revel,  ii. 
"  Resist   ware,"    80. 
Rhead  Bros.,  99. 
Rhodes,  Mr.,  48. 
Riga,   ii. 
Rome,  43,  44. 
"Roman   History,"   58. 
Rosso- Antico,  17,  77. 
Roubiliac,  L.  F.,  48. 
Russian   service,  34. 

S.  W.  &  Co.,  108. 
"Sacrifices,"    58. 
Sadler  and  Green,  7,  36,  38. 
Salt  Glaze  ware,  91. 
Sanderson,  Mr.  A.,  61. 
St.  Martin's  Lane,  10,  ii. 
St.  Petersburg,  n. 
St.  Stephens,   35. 
Screws,  50. 
Shaftesbury,  Lord,  61. 
Shaw's  "Hist,  of  the  Staff  Pot- 
teries," 32. 
Shells,  80. 
Sibson,  Dr.,   59. 
"  Silvered   ware,"  79,   80. 
Simcock,  48. 
Smith,  Wm.,  108. 
"So.  for  Abolition  of  Slavery," 

"Solid  Agate,"  31. 

"  Sovereigns  of  Macedonia,"  58. 

Spain,  33. 

Spode,  J.,  25. 

"Sprigging,"  56. 

Staffordshire,  8,   13,  40,  41,  80, 

90,  97,  no. 
Steele,  A.,  48. 
Steel,   D.,  no. 
Stephan,  P.,  43. 
Stockton,  106,  108. 
Stoke,   102. 


TABLETS,  20,  22,  49,  59,  60,  61, 

63-70. 

Taylor,  C.,  48. 
Tassie,   J.,  43,   57. 
Tea,  27,  86,  87. 
Tea  and  Coffee  services,  19,  20, 

22,  26,  27,  28,  37. 
Tea  caddies,  25,  40. 
Templetown,    La.dy,   43,    63. 
Terra-cotta,   70. 
"Terrines,"  2 

"The  Old   China  Book,"  30. 
"  Thumb  moulds,"   56. 
Tiles,  41. 

Tomlinson,  106-108. 
Tortoise-shell  ware,  2. 
Transfer  printing,  7. 
Turin,  11. 
Turner,  J.,  29,  35,  88,  90,  102- 

105,  no. 

Turner,  J.  and  W.,  104. 
"Twigged  work,"  39. 

UNDERCUTTING,  46. 
Unwin,  Ralph,  48. 
"  Useful  wares,"  10,  14,  18,  19, 
20,  40,  41,  42,  44,  88,  112. 

VALENCIA,  n. 

Vases,  22,  40,  44,  45,  46,  48,  49, 

58,  59,  62,  85,  87,  96 
Venice,  n. 
Versailles,  n. 
Voyez,  J.,  42,  95-98,  100. 

WARBURTON,  J.,  90,  91,  92,  93, 

94,  102. 
Warburtons,    The,   29,    33,    90- 

94. 

Warehouse,  10. 
"  War  of  Troy,"  58. 
Washington,  G.,  13. 
Watson,  Edw.,  43. 
Webber,  H.,  15,  43,  62. 


116 


INDEX 

"Wedgwood    and    Co.,"     106-  Whieldon,  Thomas,  3,  4,  5,  24, 

108.  25,  29. 

"Wedgwood  and  Bentley,"  12,  White  ware,  17. 

1 8,  20,  22,  47,  98.  Wilcox,    Mr.   and   Mrs.,  48. 

Wedgwood,  Josiah,  1-16.  Will's  sale,  45,  47,    57,   59,  60, 

Wedgwood,  Ralph,  106,  108.  86,  88,  101,  103,  104. 

Wedgwood,  Sarah,  7,  10,   13.  Wilson,  C,  100. 

Wedgwood,  Thomas  and  Mary,  Wilson,  R.,   100. 

i.  Wood,  A.,  25. 

Wedgwood,   Thomas,    (cousin),  Wood,  Wm.,  62. 

5,  10,  14,  1 8.  Wyatt,  43. 
Westmacott,  43. 


117 


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